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TESTIMONIALS 


From  Rev.  Wm.  R.  Williams,  D.  D. 

From  the  pressure  of  other  engagements  the  subscriber  has  been 
able  to  give  but  a  hasty  and  imperfect  examination  of  the  MS.  of 
Rev.  C.  B.  Smith,  of  Chicago,  on  the  Philosophy  of  Reform.  The 
topic  of  the  work  renders  it  eminently  a  seasonable  one.  The 
policy  of  God  to  make  his  own  Church  the  great  human  agent  in 
the  world's  reformation,  and  the  failure  and  folly  of  all  attempts  to 
supersede  this,  the  scheme  of  our  Maker  and  Ruler,  are  truths  that 
Mr.  Smith  seems  to  have  brought  out  with  much  prominence,  and 
with  vigor  of  thought  and  language. 

In  the  extent  to  which  he  supposes  voluntary  associations,  and 
the  employment  by  our  great  religious  societies  of  agents,  to 
elicit  the  feelings  and  alms  of  the  Churches,  are  infringements  of 
the  divine  policy,  Mr.  Smith  may  not  find  all  his  religious  readers 
prepared  fully  to  receive  his  views.  The  piety,  ability  and  time- 
liness of  the  work  most,  however,  will  allow. 

The  subscriber  can  only  express  his  hope  that  the  work  may  be 
published — awaken  the  attention  that  from  its  temper,  talent  and 
momentous  theme,  it  merits — and  afford  to  the  respected  author 
some  adequate  remuneration  for  the  time  and  thought  he  has  be- 
stowed upon  his  task. 

WM.  R.  WILLIAMS, 
Potior  of  the  Amity  St.  Bap.  Church,  N.  Y. 


From  Rev.  Charles  G.  Sommers. 

The  undersigned,  after  a  somewhat  careful  perusal  of  a  part  of 
the  MS.  volume  entitled  "  Philosophy  of  Reform,"  feels  great  plea- 

1 


2  TESTIMONIALS. 

sure  in  expressing  the  belief,  that  Rev.  C.  B.  Smith  has  prepared  a 
work  demanded  by  the  peculiar  exigencies  of  the  present  epoch, 
and  that  it  cannot  fail  to  receive  extensive  circulation  among  the 
thoughtful  and  pious  of  every  evangelical  denomination  in  the 
land. 

CHAS.  G.  SOMMERS, 
Pastor  of  the  South  Bap.  Church,  N.  Y. 


From  Rev.  Thomas  H.  Skinner >  D.  _D, 

From  a  brief  view  of  the  outline  of  Mr.  Smith's  work,  and  from 
a  very  careful  attention  to  one  of  its  chapters,  I  am  persuaded  that 
it  is  very  sound  in  its  teaching,  very  seasonable,  and  written  with 
much  vigor  and  force  of  language.  I  concur  in  the  lecommen- 
dations  of  Dr.  Williams  and  Mr.  Sommers,  and  earnestly  desire 
that  the  book  may  be  published. 

THOMAS.  H.  SKINNER. 


From  Rev.  Samuel  D.  Bur  chard. 

Having  examined  parts  of  the  MS.  of  the  Rev.  C.  B.  Smith, 
entitled  the  "  Philosophy  of  Reform,"  I  feel  prepared  to  ex- 
press a  favorable  opinion  as  to  its  merits,  and  concur  with  the 
brethren  in  a  desire  to  see  it  published,  believing  it  will  meet  an 
exigency  of  the  times,  and  will  be  read  with  interest  by  all  think- 
ing men.  The  author  aims  to  evolve  great  principles,  correct  great 
errors,  and  elevate  man  to  the  great  position  in  the  scale  of  being 
which  he  is  destined  to  occupy. 

SAMUEL  D.  BURCHARD, 
Pastor  of  the  Houston  St.  Pres.  Church,  N.  Y. 


TI1K 


PHILOSOPHY   OF   REFORM 


II  IK 


PHILOSOPHY    OF.  REFORM 


IN    WHICH    ARC    EXHIBITED   THE 


DKSIGN,  PRINCIPLE  AND  PLAN  OF  GOD, 


FULL  DEVELOPMENT  OF  MAN, 


SOCIAL,  CIVIL,  INTEJL|C[I&I&ND  MORAL  BEING; 

f/     V        OK  THE 
THEREBY  ELEVAlfNG  HIM  IN  THE  SCALE  OF    BEING  TO  THE  POSITION 

BY  REV*7i.  HltLiKoS  SMITH, 
ft 


THE   FUTURE  MIRRORED   IN  THE  PAST  AND  PRESENT. 

NEW    YORK: 
GATES     AND    STEDMAN. 

1846. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1846, 

BY    GATES    AND    STEDMAN, 

In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  for  the  Southern  District  of 
New  York. 


\  A 


TO 

REV.  J.  T.  HEADLEY, 

$1)10     U  a  I  a  in  c 

is  respectfully   inscribed  in  remembrance  of  schoolboy 

associations;   as  a  mark  of  respect  for  great  moral 

worth  and  brilliant  talents  ;  and  as  a  slight 

acknowledgment  of   gratitude   for 

the    sympathy    and    favors 

received   by 

THE     AUTHOR. 


PREFACE. 


An  independent  thinker  is  usually  looked  upon 
with  suspicion,  and  one  who  invents  some  new  thing 
is  regarded  a  dangerous  man.  This  may  be  owing  to 
the  aversion  of  the  human  mind  to  change,  and  to  its 
respect  and  veneration  for  the  past.  Sudden  and  violent 
encroachments  on  established  systems  are  feared  more 
than  those  systems  themselves,  that  are  seen  to  be  slow- 
ly working  the  destruction  of  what  they  were  formed 
to  destroy.  Still,  immobility  is  no  less  dangerous  and 
destructive  than  rashness.  He  who  travels  in  a  circle, 
though  his  path  be  well  defined,  has  no  more  hope  of 
improvement  than  fear  of  degeneracy. 

The  wise  man,  therefore,  while  he  acknowledges 
true  genius  and  hails  with  delight  whatever  may  be  a 
real  improvement,  or  true  advancement  in  any  depart- 
ment of  life,  will  not  receive,  with  enthusiasm,  what- 
ever is  new,  because  it  is  new,  neither  will  he  reject 
it  for  the  same  reason.  But  all  men  are  not  wise  men. 
Therefore,  he  is  an  insane  man,  who,  standing  up  amid 
his  countrymen  and  the  world,  says,  pointing  to  what 
will  be  to  thousands  an  imaginary  pass,  "  thither  all 
things  tend,  through  that  opening  the  world  is  rushing 


vj  PREFACE. 


to  gain  the  temple  of  truth,"  if  he  supposes  that  man- 
kind, or  a  greater  portion  of  them,  will  believe  him. 

In  the  following  pages,  our  business  is  with  man, 
not  merely  as  a  moral,  social,  intellectual  or  civil  be- 
ing, but  man  as  an  individual.  We  have  labored  to 
discover  and  point  out  the  exact  position  for  which  he 
was  created  and  to  which  he  will,  therefore,  one  day 
attain.  Unless  our  vision  is  deceptive,  we  have  seen 
man,  in  coming  years,  in  that  position,  with  all  his 
powers  and  faculties  of  both  body  and  mind,  and  with 
all  his  affections  and  feelings  fully  developed  and  re- 
fined. We  have  sought  to  trace  the  world's  winding 
way  to  that  Temple  of  Truth,  and  point  out  the  laws 
by  which  every  movement  has  been  made,  every  crisis 
formed  and  every  advancement  in  the  truth  gained. 
We  have,  therefore,  been  able  to  learn  the  worth  and 
test  the  strength  of  every  effort  made  and  every  enter- 
prise devised  for  the  improvement  of  the  race.  We 
have  aimed,  thus,  to  encourage  the  world,  the  Chris- 
tian, and  the  philanthropist.  We  have  stated  those 
principles  by  which  the  Christian,  the  scholar  and  the 
statesman  may  learn  their  duty  and  make  rapid  ad- 
vancement toward  the  end  they  should  seek.  We 
have  labored  to  guard  the  world  against  fanaticism  on 
the  one  hand,  and  immobility  on  the  other.  The 
world  must  be  advanced  upward  and  onward  in  every 
improvement,  yet  every  experiment  to  secure  this 
object  is  dangerous,  and  time  alone  will  tell  whether 
we    have   succeeded   in   removing   the   rubbish    and 


J'KEFACE.  Vl| 

finding  the  rock  on  which  the  race  may  tread  with 
safety. 

The  p/a»  suggested  in  the  i  ol  lowing  pages  hy  which 
we  suppose  this  object  is  to  he  filmed  is  new,  yet  the 
great  truth  on  which  it  is  based  is,  that  God  overrules 
nil  tilings  to  secure  his  design  in  creation.  As  some- 
thing new,  we  send  it  forth,  hoping  it  may  be  under- 
stood and  adopted  as  the  system  by  which  the  world 
is  to  obtain  every  rich  treasure. 

Is  such  a  work  called  for?  Yes,  indeed,  imperious- 
ly demanded  ;  if  that  ship,  plunging  and  driving  in  a 
heavy  storm  amid  the  rocks,  in  an  unknown  sea,  needs 
a  pilot — if  that  fainting  traveler  lost  in  a  wide  forest 
needs  a  guide — or  if  that  poor  wrecked  mariner,  strug- 
gling for  his  life,  on  a  single  plank,  needs  encourage- 
ment— aye,  more  than  all,  if  that  man  who  has  done 
good  battle  for  the  truth, «and  has  met  face  to  face  and 
heart  to  heart  the  demons  of  Discord,  Injustice  and 
Chaos,  and  now  bruised,  torn  and  weary,  is  well  nigh 
abandoning  the  world  to  desolation  and  death,  needs 
o  be  lifted  up,  strengthened,  and  pointed  to  that 
bright  star,  the  talisman  of  earth's  weary  workers,  to 
revive  and  inspirit  him,  is  such  a  wrork  needed  ? 

The  world  is  broken  up  from  its  former  state.  Cus- 
toms, opinion,  systems  of  thought  and  action,  and  old 
and  established  institutions  of  every  character  have 
lost  their  former  authority,  and  are  beginning  to  be 
abandoned  as  though  they  were  sinking  ships  in  the 
midst  of  the  ocean.     The  beaten  paths,  that  were  once 


yjyj  PREFACE. 

thought  to  lead  directly  to  the  temple  of  all  truth,  are 
despoiled  and  deserted  ;  and  the  rocks,  on  which  the 
world  once  trod  as  solid  and  enduring,  are  now  fled 
from  as  though  they  were  burning  coals.  How  natu- 
ral, in  such  a  state  of  things,  for  men  to  become  dis- 
couraged and  abandon  the  wrorld's  reformation  as  hope- 
less, to  become  sceptical  and  deny  all  truth,  and  for 
many  to  arise  in  every  portion  of  the  land  and  cry,  "  Lo, 
here  is  truth,  or,  lo,  there  it  is."  Therefore,  is  not  a  thor- 
ough survey  of  this  world,  its  state,  its  errors  and  pros- 
pects, and  the  only  true  course  left  it  to  pursue,  called 
for  ?  Can  it  be  saved  from  discouragement  and  ruin 
in  any  other  way  ? 

But  it  may  be  urged  that  our  system  is  liable  to  the 
same  objection  that  is  everywhere  urged  against  the 
thousand  and  one  modern  reforms.  We  have  got  up 
no  new  system  of  truth,  but  have  merely  aimed  to  put 
the  world  in  possession  of  a  knowledge  of  the  plan  for 
securing  what  has  long  been  regarded  as  our  inheri- 
tance. We  have  not  sought  to  disorganize  or  even 
remodel,  but  to  develop  the  principles  by  which  the 
world  ever  has  been,  and  must  be,  advanced  in  every 
improvement. 

There  is  permanency  and  regularity  in  nothing  but 
the  truth;  we  may  never,  therefore,  hope  for  the 
war  of  the  elements  to  cease,  until  in  all  things  we 
are  conformed  to  it.  The  human  mind  seeks  perma- 
nency and  regularity,  but  it  may  be  purchased  at  too 
dear  a  rate,  as  the  world's  history  everywhere  shows. 


PREFACE  ix 

1(  must,  (lion,  be  needful  m  Irani  the  principles  and 
laws  by  which  the  world  is  governed  and  managed,  so 
that  we  shall  not  only  not  be  disheartened  but  encour- 
aged; and  not  only  this,  but  be  able  to  harness  ion  ■ 
these  raging  winds  and  waves  and  driving  storms,  and 
make  them  bear  us  on  toward  the  world's  resting- 
place. 

We  do  not  imagine  this  work  will  secure  all  these 
needful  blessings ;  but  we  have  confidence  it  will  serve 
to  call  out  abler  men,  who  will  spread  out  the  whole 
truth  so  clearly  and  fully  that  he  who  runs  may  read 
and  understand.  Though  we  may  not  be  able,  others 
will  call  back  the  Church  to  her  own  work  and  field 
of  labor,  and  succeed  in  gathering  up  the  strength  that 
is  now  wasted  in  wrongly-directed  labors,  and  apply 
it  where  and  when  and  in  what  manner  it  will  secure 
the  long  looked  and  sought  for  blessings.  There  is 
large  hope  and  encouragement  in  the  fact  that  men 
do  labor,  though  to  but  little  profit;  for  the  time  is  not 
far  distant  when  the  true  system  of  labor  and  success 
will  be  understood,  and  our  present  wasted  energies 
employed  in  well-directed  work  in  every  improvement. 

We  may  be  allowed  to  say,  the  following  pages  are 
the  result  of  an  individual's  investigations,  who,  hav- 
ing watched  the  various  movements  and  efforts  that 
have  been  made  during  the  last  few  years  until  he  saw 
the  tendency  of  them,  however  well  meant,  was  to 
destruction  and  ruin,  and  not  being  able,  at  first,  to 
see  any  other  way  to  reform  the  world  and  elevate  the 


x  PREFACE. 

race  to  its  destined  position,  became  sceptical,  bewil- 
dered, and  well  nigh  settled  down  in  blank  infidelity. 
In  this  dark  and  frightful  state  of  mind  he  commenced 
his  labors ;  and,  should  not  another  crushed  and  broken 
spirit  be  lifted  up  and  encouraged  and  strengthened  by 
this  effort,  he  feels  that  he  is  well  repaid  for  all  his 
sacrifices  and  labors. 

We  have  omitted,  contrary  to  our  first  intention,  to 
discuss  many  practical  questions  that  naturally  grow 
out  of  the  subject.  Some  of  our  friends  will,  therefore, 
be  disappointed  in  not  finding  the  present  state  of 
things  in  the  moral  world  dwelt* on  more  at  length, 
with  the  remedy  for  the  existing  evils  in  the  Church 
more  definitely  and  distinctly  pointed  out.  But  they 
will  find  these  and  kindred  questions  examined  more 
fully  than  they  could  be  in  this  work  in  a  forthcoming 
one,  entitled  "The  Reformation  of  the  Church." 

With  these  facts  and  thoughts,  we  send  the  following 
pages  forth,  as  something  new  and  out  of  the  ordinary 
and  every-day  route  of  investigation,  therefore  aware 
of  the  fiery  ordeal  through  which  they  must  pass,  but 
in  full  confidence  they  will  be  properly  appreciated  by 
an  unprejudiced  people.  May  the  God  of  truth  add 
his  blessing  to  what  we  have  written,  in  accordance 
to  his  holy  will,  and  cause  it  to  be  instrumental  in 
hastening  the  world's  thorough  reformation. 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER    1. 


INTRODUCTION. 

PAGE. 

Success  and  its  certainty — Grounds  of  success  in  all  enterprises 
the  same — One-ideaism — Importance  of  system — God's  plans 
may  be  known — Systems  not  conformed  to  Truth  must  ever 
fail — Age  makes  nothing  new — The  province  of  the  philoso- 
pher— The  need  of  reformers— Our  field  defined — The  world 
united,  .  < 17 


CHAPTER    II. 

REFORMATION    DEFINED. 

The  world's  destiny — Reformation  literally  considered — Revolu- 
tion— Regeneration — Special  reformation — The  world  freed 
from  sin — The  whole  man  developed — Man  conformed  to  the 
whole  truth — The  true  reformation  commenced,       .         .         .33 


CHAPTER    III. 

THE   WORLD   REFORMED. 

The  designs  of  God  exhibited  in  his  works — Man  fitted  for  a 
higher  state  than  he  now  occupies — God's  dealings  with  the 
world — His  designs  inferred  from  his  character — The  argument 
from  the  Bible— The  gift  of  Christ— Objections,  .        .40 


xii  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER     IV. 

THE    PRINCIPLE    OF    REFORMATION.  PAGE 

Principle  defined — Analogy  between  the  natural  and  moral 
world — Importance  of  understanding  the  principle  of  reforma- 
tion— This  principle  not  found  in  one-ideaism,  religious  sects, 
or  modern  reforms — Truth  defined — Benevolence  defined — The 
principle  of  reformation  stated — Success  in  reformation,  .     66 

CHAPTER    V. 

THE    EMBODIMENT    AND    CONSERVATIVE    POWER    OF    THE    PRIN- 
CIPLE   OF    REFORMATION. 

The  principle  of  reformation  embodied  in  the  Cross  of  Christ — 
The  Cross  defined — An  exhibit  of  its  moral  power — The  phi- 
losophy of  the  ancients — The  wisdom  of  man — Modern  reform 
enterprises — Universal  education — Society  remodeled — The 
Church  reformed — Human  governments  perfected — Our  litera- 
ture purified,  94 

CHAPTER    VI. 

THE    LAWS    OF   REFORMATION. 

The  reformation  in  an  active  state — The  unity  of  reformation — 
Truth  once  developed  is  never  lost — Truth  not  discovered  by 
a  direct  effort — The  progress  of  reformation  is  not  visibly 
regular — A  forthcoming  event  casts  its  shadows  before  it — 
Truth  is  first  brought  out  in  the  heart — Old  systems  never 
abandoned  until  outgrown  or  worn  out— Principles  not  pushed 
to  conclusions  at  once, 124 

CHAPTER    VII. 

THE    HISTORY    OF   REFORMATION. 

The  early  state  of  the  world — Its  state  at  the  coming  of  Christ — 
The  teaching  of  Christ — Proof  of  the  establishment  of  the  prin-  . 
ciple  of  reformation — The  reformation  spreading — The  philoso- 
phy of  the  schools — Heresies — Persecutors — The  fall  of  Rome — 
The  officers  of  the  Church  become  the  officers  of  the  State — 
Influence  of  the  Barbarians — The  world  prepared  for  a  Univer- 
sal Church— Truth  diffused  through  the  whole  mass,        .  150 


CONTENTS.  nli 

CHAPTER    VIII 

the  history  or  REFORMATION  continued,  paoe 

The  active  state  of  the  principle  of  reformation — The  time  for  re- 
formation not  yet  come — The  chaos  of  the  world— The  world 
disgusted  with  spiritual  tyranny — Apostolic  succession — Rome 
and  her  will — Feudalism — Effects  of  the  Crusades— Men's  hab- 
its and  feelings  changed — The  mind  emancipated— Learning 
revered— Truth  working  out .  HS 


CHAPTER    IX 


THE    REFORMATION    OF  THE  SIXTEENTH   CENTURY. 

The  Reformation  a  crisis — The  beginning  and  end  of  the  Refor- 
mation— State  of  the  world — State  of  the  Romish  Church — The  _, 
cause  of  the  Reformation — The  Reformers  defended  against  the 
charge  of  inconsistency — Pure  religion  revered — Church  and 
State  separated — Freedom  of  the  mind  increased — The  charac- 
ter of  Luther > 211 


CHAPTER    X. 


THE   CHURCH   THE   WORLD**    REFORMER. 

The  Church  denned— The  law  of  progress  of  the  race — The 
Church  and  her  means  for  reforming  the  world — The  moral 
power  of  the  Church — The  design  of  Christ  in  reference  to  the 
Church — The  Church  divorced  from  her  appropriate  work — 
Voluntary  association — Missionary  associations — Agents,  .  242 


CHAPTER    XI. 


THE    PRESENT   STATE   OF  THE    WORLDS    REFORMATION. 

The  freedom  of  the  mind — The  investigation  of  fundamental  prin- 
ciples— The  shrinking  from  responsibility — The  present  state 
of  the  Church — The  contest  between  candor  and  bigotry,  hon- 
esty and  dishonesty,  sincerity  and  Jesuitical  trickery.       .         .  271 


xiv  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER    XII. 

PROSPECTS    OF   THE    WORLD'S    REFORMATION.  PAGE 

Prospects  in  the  moral  world — Prospects  in  the  scientific,  literary 
and  civil  world — The  world  is  moved  together — The  world  can 
never  be  moved  again  by  small  ideas — The  state  of  things  in 
the  East— Conclusion, 296 

CHAPTER    XIII. 

OUR    DUTIES. 

Duty  defined — Duty  of  the  Church — Duties  of  ministers  of  the 
gospel — Duties  of  Christians — The  Duty  of  statesmen — Educa- 
tion— Duty  of  literary  men — Duty  of  citizens — Recapitula- 
tion— Conclusion, ...  321 


THE 


PHILOSOEEK-t^^EFOEM 


INTRODUCTION. 

Success  and  its  certainty — Ground  of  success  in  all  enterprises  the  same 
— One-ideaism — Importance  of  system — God's  plans  may  be  known — 
Systems  not  conformed  to  truth  must  ever  fail— Age  makes  nothing 
true— The  province  of  the  philosopher— The  need  of  Reformers— Our 
field  defined — The  world  united. 

Success  is  the  great  object  of  every  undertaking, 
the  full  compensation  for  the  labor  of  every  good  work, 
and  the  anticipated  reward  for  all  the  sacrifices  in 
every  enterprise.  Therefore,  every  rational  work — 
its  cost,  its  labors  and  sacrifices — will  be  in  good  pro- 
portion to  the  value  of  the  object  to  be  gained.  He 
who  expects  to  gain  permanent  good  without  propor- 
tioned effort,  is  ignorant  of  the  laws  of  nature.  JVb 
thing  will  come  by  wishing,  or  by  calling,  neither  by 
unnatural  or  ill-applied  effort,  at  least  not  the  thing 
we  seek.  It  is  sufficient  that  success  is  sure  by  true 
and  well-directed  efforts.  Truth  will  out.  There- 
fore, he  who  will  lay  his  plans  aright  in  any  depart- 
ment, so  that  truth  shall  come  out  legitimately,  need 
have  no  fear  for  success ;  for,  in  so  doing,  he  is  assist- 


18  PHILOSOPHY    OF    REFORM. 

ing  nature  to  give  birth  to  what  is  struggling  in  her 
womb. 

Every  man  may  not  understand,  theoretically,  these 
truths ;  yet,  by  experiment,  he  may  learn  all  that  can 
be  of  any  service  to  him  in  prosecuting  his  various 
undertakings.  No  one  would  have  courage  to  labor 
in  anything  were  it  otherwise.  We  should  abandon 
every  work  in  despair,  were  there  no  settled  principles 
on  which  we  could  rely,  and  thus  be  sure  of  ultimate 
success  in  those  plans  whose  objects  are  good.  Hence, 
when  we  fail,  we  blame  ourselves,  knowing  that  we 
have  not  conformed  strictly  to  truth-principles.  We 
may  not  have  violated  .a  single  principle  that  has  ever 
been  revealed  to  us,  yet  there  may  be  those  which  are 
hidden  that  we  have  not  adhered  to.  A  man,  ignorant 
of  the  principles  of  vegetation,  may  wonder  that  he  is 
not  successful  in  growing  his  wheat,  when,  to  his 
neighbor,  the  fact  of  his  having  neglected  to  till  his 
ground  properly  makes  the  reason  quite  obvious.  If 
this  farmer  be  a  wise  man  he  will  eventually  learn  the 
cause  of  his  failure,  from  the  various  plans  and  exper- 
iments to  which  he  will  naturally  resort.  He  will  yet 
be  able  to  conform  to  all  the  principles  in  the  case,  or 
to  nature's  irrevocable  laws,  and  succeed  in  his  under- 
taking. Being  in  possession  of  the  facts,  he  readily 
learns  their  wherefore,  and  will  therefore  have  no 
difficulty  henceforth  in  his  work;  for  he  has  possessed 
himself  of  a  knowledge  of  the  fixed  principles  and 
learned  to  conform  to  them.  Precisely  thus,  is  all 
our  knowledge  and  success  obtained. 

An  object  beyond  the  sight  of  man,  however  good 
it  may  be,  is,  to  him,  as  though  it  were  no  object  at 
all.  He  can  make  no  effort  to  obtain  it,  until  the 
darkness  which   has  hitherto  shrouded  it  is   broken 


INTRODUCTION.  19 

away,  and  it  rises  before  him.  He  may  not,  even 
then,  be  able  to  secure  11.  K\ery  plan  he  can  devise, 
and  to  whii  h  he  trusts,  l;ul>.  Tin  -re  is  something  yet 
unknown  to  be  revealed,  and  this  he  must  feel,  or 
success  will  never  come.  Hence  he  reasons  and  makes 
experiments  in  the  process  we  have  noted,  until  in  the 
end  he  is  successful. 

The  same  is  true  in  the  moral  world.  Rich  trea- 
HP61  are  scattered  all  around  us,  but  our  sight  is  too 
dim  to  discover  them.  Yet  here  and  there  a  gem  is 
revealing  itself,  or  a  bright  star  is  breaking  out  from 
the  clouds ;  and  thus,  almost  daily,  we  find  some  new 
inducement  for  renewed  exertion  to  secure  the  posi- 
tion in  the  rank  of  intelligences  for  which  we  were 
created.  The  people  of  former  ages  supposed  they 
had  reached  the  summit  of  wisdom,  that  there  was  no- 
thing beyond  their  attainments,  and  that  they  had 
treasured  up  all  the  good  destined  for  man  in  this 
world.  To  us,  their  folly  in  these  notions  is  appa- 
rent. We  have  advanced  far  beyond  the  position  they 
occupied.  Yet  we  are  as  ignorant  as  they  were  of 
the  plans  for  securing  the  richer  blessings  that  are 
held  out  to  us ;  hence,  we  are  constantly  devising  and 
putting  in  operation  new  plans  and  measures,  which 
have  increased,  of  late,  to  an  almost  endless  extent 
and  variety. 

There  is  a  class  of  men  found  in  almost  every  de- 
partment of  life  which  we  must  not  fail  to  mention. 
They  are  weak  and  narrow-minded,  and  therefore 
stubbornly  positive.  Their  faculties  are  quick  and 
active  to  perceive  whatever  is  brought  directly  before 
the  eye,  yet  they  have  no  power  to  penetrate  to  the 
lowest  depths  of  things,  or  to  weigh  well  all  the  facts 
and  trace  them  to  their  fountain.     They  see  a  thought 


20  PHILOSOPHY    OF    REFORM. 

detached  and  single.  It  is  bright  to  them  and  all- 
important.  Their  whole  strength  is  exerted  to  carry 
out  that  thought  or  gain  that  single  bright  something. 
It  matters  nothing  how  un-tme  their  plans  may  be, 
neither  are  they  careful  lest  a  vastly  greater  amount 
of  injury  is  done  than  good  gained  by  their  labors. 
There  is  one  single  object  before  them  on  which  they 
keep  their  eye.  They  can  neither  see  nor  examine 
anything  else.  To  men  of  ordinary  insight  their  suc- 
cess is  seen  to  be  impossible.  But  what  of  that,  they 
are  the  last  persons  who  can  be  made  to  understand 
this  and  investigate  for  themselves.  They  will  either 
censure  or  denounce  others  for  their  want  of  sympathy 
and  co-operation.  This  is  not  wise.  Here  are  the 
objects  before  us.  Why  not  employ  all  the  truth  in 
our  possession  in  creating  a  plan  to  gain  them  1  If 
unsuccessful  on  the  first  trial,  why  not  reason  and  in- 
vestigate and  make  other  trials,  and  by  no  means  be 
intolerant  and  illiberal,  and  pronounce  our  plan  true 
and  perfect  before  it  is  fully  proved,  simply  because 
it  chances  to  embody  one  bright  thought.  Let  me 
say  to  such  men,  "  When  your  plan  has  been  proved 
true,  the  world  will  adopt  it.  It  never  adopts  any- 
thing but  what  is  supposed  true ;  and  when  your 
scheme  has  been  proved  true,  all  others  have  been 
demonstrated  false,  and  they  will  be  abandoned." 

In  everything  but  moral  enterprises,  men  are  con- 
siderate, prudent  and  wise.  He  who  will  spend  his 
fortune  in  getting  up  an  invention  that  has  never  been 
tried  we  call  an  insane  man.  Men  are  very  careful 
how  they  invest  their  capital  in  any  enterprise  with- 
out the  certainty  of  its  refunding  their  principal  and 
interest.  All  this  is  very  proper.  But  when  the 
well-being  of  our  inner  man  is  concerned,  our  future 


INTRODUCTION.  21 

well-being,  ami  thai  of  the  whole  world,  we  are 
usually  less  wise,  less  careful  and  considerate.  Were 
we  as  ready  to  weigh  eVery  consideration  and  fact, 
and  trace  out  their  bearing,  connection  and  relation, 
in  spiritual,  as  in  temporal  affairs,  our  progress  would 
be  far  more  rapid,  and  our  success  far  more  sure. 

The  importance  of  understanding  fully  and  tho- 
roughly the  work  in  which  we  are  engaged,  together 
with  the  true  mode  of  securing  a  successful  result, 
no  one  will  doubt.  Men  cannot  engage  in  work  here 
and  there,  in  whatever  may  chance  to  present  itself, 
and  rationally  hope  to  accomplish  any  great  good, 
or  secure  permanent  success,  without  system.  He 
who  follows  nature  in  the  prosecution  of  any  enter- 
prise will  be  successful,  and  in  no  other  way,  for  he 
alone  will  possess  a  perfect  system.  Let  him  adopt 
any  other  plan,  his  crooked  and  winding  course  ex- 
hibits his  folly,  and  is  sure  evidence  of  his  ultimate 
ruin.  This  is  far  more  important  in  moral,  than  in 
temporal  enterprises.  Luther  and  his  co-laborers  lit- 
tle thought  the  cause  of  their  zeal  and  efforts  was  the 
effect  of  other  causes  which  had  existed  for  ages. 
They  felt  impelled  by  something  of  which  they  were 
almost  entirely  ignorant,  so  they  attacked  the  sins  of 
the  Church — the  only  work,  in  fact,  they  found  to  do. 
Their  conduct,  much  of  it,  was  inconsistent  with  it- 
self, as  well  as  with  truth,  simply  because  they  did 
not  fully  understand  the  nature  of  the  work  in  which 
they  were  engaged.  They  did  not  see,  at  first,  whither 
everything  was  tending,  but  merely  labored  to  purify 
the  Church.  As  the  current  of  truth  was  more  and 
more  clearly  exhibited,  they  changed  their  course. 
Therefore,  though  they  are  subjected  to  the  charge  of 
inconsistency,  the  very  cause  of  it  is  positive  proof  of 


22  PHILOSOPHY    OF    REFORM. 

their  sincerity;  and  that  they  followed  the  leadings  of 
Providence,  and  did  not  seek  what  they  gained  by 
plans  and  systems  previously  perfected. 

There  is  chance  for  great  evil  in  driving  on  our 
half-matured  projects.  By  the  way,  we  are  far  more 
confident,  boisterous  and  zealous  in  prosecuting  such 
a  work,  than  a  true  one.  Our  trust  in  that  which  has 
been  proved  to  be  true  is  so  perfect  that  we  are  scarcely 
conscious  of  our  confidence.  We  pursue  our  work, 
under  such  circumstances,  trustingly  and  diligently, 
never  calling  to  mind  the  ground  of  our  confidence, 
except  it  be  when  severely  attacked.  Our  zeal  is 
regular  and  constant,  and  proportioned  to  our  work. 
But  suppose  we  stake  our  all  upon  a  project  which  we 
have  introduced  and  adopted,  the  reverse  is  true.  It 
must  prove  true,  or  we  are  dead  men !  Hence,  the 
probability  of  the  introduction  of  any  measures  however 
extravagant  should  there  be  an  indication  of  failure. 
There  is  danger  also,  in  such  cases,  of  violating  other 
truths  or  principles  which  we  do  not  perceive,  and  of 
which  we  know  nothing.  Such  men  are  wild,  reck- 
less and  dangerous.  We  would  say  to  them,  learn 
this  simple  truth,  viz.,  all  truth  is  consistent  with  it- 
self; hence,  no  one  truth  can  be  pushed  forward  and 
established  to  the  destruction  of  any  other.  It  will  not 
do  to  say,  "  this  or  that  is  right,  and  therefore  it  must 
be  driven  to  extremes  at  once."  If  it  is  really  truth, 
it  will,  in  time,  be  pushed  to  its  legitimate  conclusion, 
and  its  practical  bearing  felt  in  everything.  Suppose 
God  had  thus  dealt  with  us.  This  world  is  sinful,  de- 
serves to  be  burned  up,  and  its  depraved  inhabitants 
destroyed.  All  this  God  saw  ages  gone  by.  Why 
did  he  not  apply  the  torch,  and  consume  the  deranged 
and  self-disgraced  planet  ?     These  men  who  ever  act 


INTRODUCTION.  23 

at  sigkt>  and  with  an  unproven  system,  would  say: 
4k  Whatever  is  right  to  be  done,  do  it  at  once,  regard- 
leas  of  consequences."  This  fearlessness  they  call 
moral  courage.  Therefore  they  would  apply  the 
torch  to  die  magazine,  even  should  the  explosion  de- 
stroy the  world.  You  say :  They  designed  no  evil, 
they  were  only  zealous  for  the  truth?  True,  indeed, 
they  may  have  been  zealous  for  what  they  regarded 
as  the  truth  ;  so  was  Mahomet,  so  is  every  idolater ! 
We  say:  Though  their  "one  thought"  may  be  true,  the 
whole  plan,  system  and  labors  are  all  wrong,  possess- 
ing no  truth  whatever. 

Altogether  too  long  have  we  been  struggling  to 
push  forward  our  moral  enterprises  without  knowing, 
or  striving  to  understand,  even  if  any  exists,  the  great 
and  immutable  system  by  which  God  is  seeking  to 
redeem  the  world.  We  may  have  had  some  system 
in  our  lesser  works — minor  or  subordinate  systems — 
none,  however,  that  we  think  of,  save  those  positive 
institutions  which  the  Head  of  the  Church  has  required 
his  people  to  observe,  which  we  regard  as  wholly  true. 
We  may  condemn  the  man  whom  we  have  just  de- 
smU'd,  and  at  the  same  time  be  guilty  of  the  same 
wrong :  not,  perhaps,  on  so  small  a  scale,  yet  very 
similar  after  all.  We  see  something  to  be  done.  Our 
system  is  planned  to  gain  the  object.  Our  vision  is 
bounded  within  this  narrow  horizon.  We  take  not  in 
the  whole  world,  and  all  the  facts  in  the  case,  and 
learn  the  plan,  system  or  laws  by  which  truth  makes 
progress  in  the  earth,  and,  in  striving  to  carry  out  this 
plan,  make  all  our  minor  schemes  auxiliary  to  it,  and 
after  its  pattern.  Hence  it  is  that  the  different  sects 
and  reformers,  in  the  world,  cut  and  hew  around  them 
without  much  wisdom,  and  are  satisfied  that  some 
2 


24  PHILOSOPHY    OF    REFORM. 

good  is  accomplished.  They  are  like  an  undisciplined 
army  marching-  and  righting  without  system,  and 
therefore  in  danger  of  crippling  each  other's  efforts, 
if  not  of  beating  out  each  other's  life  by  their  hetero- 
geneous blows.  Until  the  system  by  which  Heaven 
is  bringing  the  world  back  to  truth  is  fully  developed 
and  observed,  we  may  never  hope  for  union  of  desire 
and  effort  among  reformers.  No  other  system  can 
harmonize  all  views  and  unite  all  labors. 

As  we  have  said  :  This  world,  in  all  its  departments, 
from  the  statesman  to  the  little  urchin  who  spends 
sleepless  nights  in  maturing  plans  to  obtain  a  kite,  is  a 
system-making  and  plan-devising  world.  But  few  en- 
ter into  work  haphazard.  We  have  too  much  expe- 
rience for  this.  The  folly  of  such  as  do  has  long  ago  been 
marked,  and  their  irrevocable  sentence  pronounced. 
We  all  strive,  in  forming  our  plans  and  systems,  to 
insure  success.  When  they  are  strictly  conformed  to 
the  great  truth  or  reality  of  things,  and  when  in  their 
operation  they  move  in  strict  harmony  with  the  truth- 
plan  of  the  Universe,  success  is  sure.  Suppose  we  do 
plead  antiquity,  venerableness  from  years,  and  the  like, 
for  any  system  of  ours  ;  suppose  it  has  stood  for  ages,  is 
it  necessarily  true?  By  no  means.  The  time  may 
not  have  come  for  its  destruction.  The  great  inner  fact 
has  not  yet  displaced  it,  by  an  overthrow  in  its  outward 
forthcoming  in  that  direction.  And  there  it  stands, 
grown  gray  with  years,  and  wrinkled  for  the  want  of 
sufficient  vitality  to  keep  its  energies  from  wasting 
away.  What !  worship  we  this  because  it  runs  back 
beyond  the  memory  of  man  !  Truth  is  of  far  greater 
age  ;  God,  too,  is  greater.  Look  down  into  the  heart 
of  things,  and  thou  wilt  find  that  which  is  worth  thy 
devotion  and  obedience.     How  insignificant  and  weak 


INTRODUCTION.  25 

arc  all  thy  venerable  and  old  <rray  inshiutions  and 
systems  in  the  presence  of  truth  !  The  time  is  coming 
w -hen  thai  system  of  thine,  if  not  built  on  the  truth, 
will  be  overthrown.  Heaven  has  marked  it  for  de- 
struction. Measures  are  in  (ram  for  this  purpose;  and 
when  the  time  for  its  removal  shall  come,  the  sorrows 
of  the  world  wailed  forth  in  tones  that  make  the  dead 
quake — the  strength  of  all  untruth  combined — or  the 
united  strength  of  all  falsity  grown  up  to  manhood — 
cannot  hinder  its  death.  From  the  highest  to  the  lowest 
department  of  life,  the  system  that  is  not  strictly  con- 
formed to  the  inner  fact  of  things  must  very  soon  be 
just  no  system  at  all.  We  care  not  how  much  good  it 
may  have  accomplished,  it  is  a  doomed  enterprise.  It 
has  been  condemned  to  utter  ruin  in  the  court  of  truth 
and  reality.  Nothing  like  it  shall  live  long.  It  may  put 
on  the  semblance  of  veritableness ;  it  may  be  covered 
over  with  artificial  ornament,  but  its  heart  shall  be 
pierced,  its  covering  cannot  save  it.  God  and  truth 
never  clash  or  quarrel,  and  while  God  exists,  truth  will 
triumph.  We  care  not  wherever  or  whenever  found, 
or  in  however  obscure  a  corner,  or  however  much 
opposed,  it  will  conquer — it  will  grow  out  from  the 
mountain  of  rubbish  that  has  been  piled  up  to  smother 
and  kill  it ;  yea,  it  will  burst  every  fetter,  and  in  the 
end  stand  revealed  in  its  simple  strength  and  purity. 
We  care  not,  though  a  system  bears  the  sanction  of  all 
the  world's  wisdom — though  subscribed  to  by  all  earth's 
rulers  and  leaders,  and  defended  by  the  loud  screeching 
of  every  subordinate  or  lesser  man  in  the  Universe,  we 
tell  its  upholder  and  defender,  "Sir!  your  system  is 
false  ;  it  must  not,  it  cannot,  and  shall  not  long  stand." 
We  would  declare  this,  even  should  the  rebuke  call 
down  upon  us  the  annihilating  sneer  of  the  boasted  wis- 


26  PHILOSOPHY    OF    REFORM. 

dom  and  worth  of  the  whole  world.  That  sneer  can- 
not put  reality  to  the  blush,  or  hinder  its  proving  them 
to  be  madmen  and  fools  in  time.  It  is  not  in  plans 
and  systems  of  man's  devising  to  afford  a  remedy  for 
the  universal  disease  of  untruth  and  falsity.  Yet  it 
would  seem  that  we  are  wrong,  for  men  are  everywhere 
peddling  off  their  patent  remedies,  with  apparently 
perfect  assurance  of  curing  every  disease  which  flesh 
and  spirit  are  heir  to.  Each  one  cries  up  his  nostrum, 
and  gets  it  "  puffed"  in  every  circle,  as  a  perfect  cure 
for  every  disease.  Every  man  has  the  true  remedy, 
all  others  are  counterfeit.  Thus,  we  have  the  best 
church,  the  best  doctrines,  the  best  system,  and  the  true 
and  only  remedy  for  a  ruined  world.  So  we  labor  and 
wrangle  the  world  over.  Truth  is  not  disconcerted. 
It  moves  on,  almighty.  One  system  after  another  dies. 
Thus  men  and  their  works  die,  and  are  neither  missed 
nor  scarcely  ever  mentioned.  We  never  remember  a 
nothing  after  it  has  passed  away.  The  truth  of  every 
system  will  live,  while  all  false  systems  will  soon  dis- 
appear, and  one  shall  take  their  place  that  is  conformed 
to  the  great  truth  of  things,  and  to  God. 

May  God's  plan,  or  system,  for  the  thorough  re- 
formation of  the  world,  be  known?  We  admit  He 
has  not  revealed  it  in  His  word.  In  giving  us  the 
Bible,  He  had  not  this  for  His  object.  The  general 
principles  are  revealed  ;  yet  no  man  would  be  able, 
without  further  aid,  to  learn  how  he  should  apply 
them  in  prosecuting  his  work.  God  has  been  dealing 
with  the  world,  since  its  fall,  to  elevate  it  to  its  pro- 
per position  in  the  scale  of  being.  We  have  the 
record  of  His  work — at  least,  the  recorded  result  of 
His  work — in  every  age.  It  is  given  on  the  sacred 
page,  to  a  good  degree,  up  to  the  time  of  our  Saviour's 


INTRODUCTION, 

death.  We  need  not  Ik mv  mistakeJMJ^ 
were  confined  to  a  single  nation,  appai 
purpose  of  preparing  the  world  for  the  comTHj^ir 
(linst.  Since  that  tune  they  have  beep  more  exten- 
sively exhibited.  His  character  and  plans  li.iv<  thus 
been  more  perfectly  revealed.  lie  has  ruled  and 
overruled  all  tilings,  to  gain  His  great  object  in  creat- 
ing the  world.  The  facts  are  spread  out  upon  every 
page  of  its  history ;  they  are  found  in  the  doings  of 
men  and  nations,  and  may  be  traced  out  in  every  age 
and  amid  every  people.  Gather  them  up,  and  find 
the  system  that  will  account  for  them  all,  and  in 
which  they  will  all  harmonize,  and  you  have  Heaven's 
plan  for  perfecting  the  race  in  every  good  thing. 

It  is  the  duty  and  province  of  the  philosopher  to 
collect  these  facts,  scattered  amid  the  history  of  all 
ages,  arrange  them  in  their  proper  order,  mark  well 
their  relation  and  connection,  and  thus  learn  this  sys- 
tem. This  may  be  done.  It  is  a  field,  however,  into 
which  but  few,  if  any,  have  hitherto  pushed  their  in- 
quiries. The  time  has  come,  we  think,  for  this 
hazardous  work  to  be  undertaken  by  somebody.  We 
must  be  able  to  co-operate  with  our  Maker  intelli- 
gently, if  at  all,  in  His  plans  and  movements,  or  our 
efforts  to  do  good  will  be  worse  than  useless.  When 
this  system  has  been  developed  and  proven,  we  may 
hope  for  the  speedy  abandonment  of  all  human-de- 
vised plans,  and  the  hearty  co-operation  of  all  men  in 
the  great  work  of  the  world's  thorough  reformation. 
Not  till  then  do  we  look  for  much  further  progress  of 
the  truth  on  the  earth. 

We  need  reformers,  but  of  a  far  different  character 
from  those  who  have  proclaimed  themselves  such 
during  the  past  few  years.     We  need  men  who  are 


28  PHILOSOPHY    OF    REFORM. 

able  to  take  in  all  the  facts  at  a  glance,  and  see  their 
nature  and  tendency,  and  be  able  to  say  to  those 
around  them — "Men!  there  everything  tends  to  this 
single  object;  let  us  aid  in  gaining  that."  They 
would  make  all  see  what  they  saw,  and  there  would 
be  one  universal  rally  for  this  object.  Hence,  we 
need  educated  men ; — not  those  who  have  passed 
through  a  prescribed  course  of  study,  and  settled 
down  into  inactivity  as  educated  men,  are  demand- 
ed ;  for  such  are  useless  to  the  world,  though  they 
may  share  its  honors.  Neither  do  we  need  men  edu- 
cated for  sects  or  parties  merely.  The  man  who  has 
learned  all  that  any  sect  or  party  require,  is  but  poorly 
prepared  for  the  station  to  which  the  times  are  calling 
him.  He  has  been  disciplined  to  think  and  reason  in 
prescribed  paths,  and  he  can  think  in  no  other.  How 
contemptible,  in  the  estimation  of  every  honest  and 
liberal  mind,  is  that  politician  who  never  thinks,  who 
dare  not  think  or  legislate,  but  for  his  party  !  He  is 
no  patriot.  There  is  nothing  generous,  or  great,  or 
noble  in  such  an  individual,  to  move  him  to  high  and 
heroic  deeds.  His  soul  is  never  stirred  with  the  love 
of  country.  It  is  too  narrow  and  shrunken  to  be  in- 
fluenced by  anything  great  and  good.  Such  a  man 
is  forbidden  to  survey  the  whole  field,  and  adopt  plans 
and  measures  for  the  welfare  of  the  country  as  such,  but 
every  thought  and  action  is  made  in  reference  to  his 
party.  We  have  enough  of  such  men,  such  reformers, 
already,  both  in  the  Church  and  in  the  State.  We 
need  in  our  halls  of  legislation  those  who  are  untram- 
meled  by  partyism,  and  who  shall,  like  our  fathers, 
forget  everything  but  our  country — our  whole  coun- 
try— and  meet  to  consult  and  act  for  the  common 
welfare.     There  is  nobleness,  greatness,  dignity  and 


INTRODUCTION.  29 

power  in  Mich  n itMi.  We  need  those  in  the  Church, 
also,  who,  being  fn  < d  inun  party  and  sectarian  influ- 
ence, shall  haw  heart!  that  swell  with  pure  and  dis- 
inlerested  love;  mt'ii  of  the  self-denial,  perseverance, 
boldness  and  piety  of  the  primitive  saints,  and  whose 
field  of  labor  is  the  world.  Such  men  can  meet  and 
deliberate  on  moot  questions  in  theology,  or  discuss 
the  merits  of  proposed  systems,  with  kindness,  candor 
and  liberality.  We  may  then,  and  not  till  then,  hope 
for  the  time  to  hasten,  when  all  the  faithful  will 
gather  into  one  great  brotherhood  for  the  overthrow 
of  error  and  wrong. 

We,  by  no  means,  plead  for  that  false  liberalism 
which  is  by  far  too  prevalent  at  the  present  day,  embra- 
cing both  good  and  bad,  and  which,  in  a  spirit  of  affect- 
ed piety,  pronounces  all  very  good.  Neither  have  we 
any  sympathy  for  that  reckless  spirit  which  has  exhib- 
ited itself  in  many  portions  of  our  country  under  the 
colors  of  "  Unionists,"  "  Come-outers,"  and  the 
like.  Such  men  and  such  efforts  we  regard  as  foolish 
and  exceedingly  wicked.  WTe  need  such  reformers, 
IP  the  Church,  as  Martyn,  Howard,  and  Whitfield 
and  Edwards  ;  in  the  State,  as  our  fathers  of  the  Revo- 
lution ;  in  the  literary  world,  as  Johnson,  Addi- 
son and  Channing,  and  the  hosts  of  similar  men, 
whose  souls  are  not  pent  up  and  crushed  down  within 
narrow  and  confined  bounds,  but  who  seek  the  world's 
good  and  advancement  in  the  truth.  Such  men  can 
look  at  all  facts  and  things,  and  weigh  them  candidly 
and  rightly.  They  are  not  pledged  to  party  interests. 
They  are  not  careful  whether  all  things  tend  to  build 
up  this  or  that  sect  or  party.  They  are  only  zealous 
for  the  truth,  and  they  will  find  it,  and  aid  greatly  in 
its  development.  We  need  men  in  every  department 
of  life,  who  shall  occupy  the  medium  between  narrow, 


30  PHILOSOPHY    OF    REFORM. 

selfish  bigotry,  and  rank,  licentious  liberalism — rather 
removed  as  far  as  possible  from  both.  Such  a  race  of 
men  are  coming  forth.  The  times  demand  them,  and 
they  will  appear  in  obedience  to  the  call. 

There  is  a  class  of  men  to  be  found  in  almost  every 
department  of  life,  who  may  very  properly  be  styled 
grumblers.  To  such,  everything  is  wrong,  and  work- 
ing wrong.  They  can  see  nothing  but  destruction  and 
ruin  in  the  result  of  everything.  They  are  confident 
that  could  this  or  that  course  have  been  adopted,  suc- 
cess would  be  sure.  They  regard  those  who  are  labor- 
ing around  them  as  going  "  too  fast,"  or  "  too  far," 
and  therefore  sit  from  day  to  day,  and,  indeed,  dur- 
ing all  their  life,  finding  fault  with  everything  that 
happens.  After  all,  they  are  careful  to  keep  within 
hailing  distance  of  the  advancing  world,  though  they 
follow  reluctantly.  Many  of  this  class,  no  doubt,  err 
on  the  safer  side ;  yet  they  are  wrong  and  foolish,  and 
fret  and  chafe  themselves  for  naught. 

However  dark  and  gloomy  the  times,  or  how  much 
soever  everything  may  be  jumbled  together,  or  how- 
ever wild  the  chaos,  it  should  be  remembered  that  God 
is  in  the  midst,  overturning  and  overturning  for  the 
purpose  of  remodeling  the  world  to  himself.  He  who 
will  look  back  but  a  few  centuries,  or  through  all  time, 
will  not  fail  to  see  how  admirably  and  perfectly  every- 
thing has  been  managed  for  the  advancement  of  truth 
in  the  earth.  The  system  by  which  truth  is  developed 
has  been  unknown,  and  it  still  may  be  but  partially 
understood  ;  yet  who  will  say  there  is  not  an  unseen 
hand  guiding  and  directing  all  things?  There  is, 
then,  no  room  for  fear,  but  evidence  sufficient  for  the 
most  perfect  confidence.  All  things  around  us  are 
tending  to  produce,  or  accomplish,  the  great  work  in 
which  God  is  engaged,  viz:  the  redemption  of  the 


INTRODUCTION.  31 

world  through  Jesus  Christ  his  Son,  and  the  elevation 
of  the  whole  race.  To  this  object  we  may  bend  our 
efforts,  and  expend  our  whole  strength,  in  full  confi- 
<1«  11.  (  that  we  are  united  with  Him  who  made  the 
world,  and  with  all  truth,  in  our  undertaking.  Here 
we  have  no  hazards  to  run — no  experiments  of  doubtful 
utility  to  make — no  plan  or  scheme  to  invent— but,  by 
following  in  the  train  of  God's  providential  dealings 
with  a  strong  and  determined  perseverance,  to  work 
out  the  truth  in  the  world. 

Here,  then,  is  our  field.  It  is  as  broad  as  the  world, 
and  confined,  not  to  a  single  age,  but  comprising  all 
ages  and  all  time  ;  having  reference  to  the  dealings  of 
God,  not  only  with  a  single  people,  but  with  all  peo- 
ple. Our  facts  lie  scattered  over  a  vast  surface  ;  they 
are  to  be  found  in  the  faint  light  that  broke  in  upon 
God's  ancient  people  ages  before  the  Saviour  came — 
gathered  amid  the  primitive  ages  of  Christianity — dug 
up  also  from  the  rubbish  of  the  middle  ages — and, 
indeed,  found  everywhere  by  thorough  searching. 
They  are  of  sufficient  number  and  variety,  we  think, 
to  enable  us  to  develop  that  system  which  shall  fully 
harmonize  the  world  and  account  for  each. 

Men  have  been  accustomed  to  hew  and  shape  these 
facts  to  fit  them  into  a  system  previously  constructed, 
but  we  have  no  need  for  more  creed-makers.  The 
world  is  already  surfeited  with  creeds  and  systems. 
Many  a  pure  and  rich  thought  has  been  lost  to  the 
world  by  being  fashioned  and  builded  into  a  system, 
which  might  otherwise  have  been  made  to  subserve 
man's  highest  interests  here  and  hereafter.  Creeds 
and  systems  have  mingled  the  good  with  error,  and 
hindered  its  full  development.  They  have  accom- 
plished something,  but  the  great  good  for  which  the 
world  was  created  is  yet  to  be  obtained.  Here  is  seen 
2* 


32  PHILOSOPHY    OF    REFORM. 

the  folly  of  building  round  a  single  thought,  as  though 
all  truth  was  there. 

It  is,  then,  important  that  we  understand  the  cause 
of  the  failures  of  moral  enterprises ;  the  cause,  also, 
of  all  success  ;  the  principles  or  laws  by  which  all  true 
reforms  are  carried  on  ;  and  thus  learn,  if  possible, 
the  secret  of  truth's  progress  in  the  earth.  One  thing 
is  evident :  not  until  this  is  accomplished,  may  we  hope 
for  the  united  labors  of  men,  to  any  great  extent,  in 
any  good  work.  The  elevation  of  the  race  and  the 
salvation  of  men  will  be  abandoned  in  despair,  for  a 
time  at  least,  and  men  will  take  up  with  something 
which  will  prove  destructive  in  the  end. 

Inasmuch  as  all  reforms,  both  great  and  small — 
all  systems  and  plans  adopted  to  carry  them  out — 
have,  either  directly  or  indirectly,  for  their  object  the 
world's  thorough  reformation,  we  hasten  to  consider 
this  question.  It  is  all-important  to  settle,  in  the  first 
place,  if  it  is  possible  to  secure  this  object,  before  we 
proceed  further  in  our  inquiries.  If  that  to  which  all 
our  labors  tend  is  a  falsity,  a  mere  Perhaps,  then  all 
our  plans,  and  systems,  and  works  are  irrational  and 
foolish.     What  then  is  the  world's  destiny  ? 


CHAPTER  II 


REFORMATION    DEFINED. 

The  World*a  Destiny— Reformation  literally  considered— Revolution- 
Regeneration — Special  Reformation— The  World  freed  from  Sin— The 
whole  Man  developed— Man  conformed  to  the  whole  Truth— The  true 
Reformation  commenced. 

Far  too  long  has  the  world  been  ignorant  of  its  des- 
tiny. Unlike  the  oak  that  grows  up  to  full  maturity 
by  fixed  laws  it  cannot  violate,  the  world  is  left,  with 
here  and  there  a  waymark,  to  its  own  will  to  direct  its 
way,  while  an  unseen  hand  will  guide  us  to  our  true 
resting-place.  When  we  remember,  therefore,  man's 
short-sightedness  and  susceptibility  to  be  influenced 
by  everything  around  him,  his  perverseness,  self-con- 
fidence, and  ignorance  of  his  Maker's  design  respecting 
him,  we  cannot  wonder  that  his  course  of  life  has  been 
crooked,  and  all  his  movements  strangely  inconsistent. 
While  his  true  destiny  and  the  means  of  securing  it 
are  unknown,  we  may  expect  our  strength  to  be  wasted, 
our  efforts  circumscribed,  our  labors  bestowed  on  wrong 
objects,  our  energies  palsied,  and  our  time  misspent. 
Remove  this  ignorance  from  his  mind,  and  you  have 
inspired  him  with  that  confidence  which  is  indispens- 
able to  great  and  heroic  deeds,  engaged  him  in  Her- 
culean labors,  given  him  that  dignity  in  all  his  move- 
ments which  will  command  the  respect  of  the  good 


34  PHILOSOPHY    OF    REFORM. 

and  true,  and  assured  him  of  ultimate  and  complete 
success. 

We  have  chosen  the  term  Reformation  to  designate 
the  system  and  means  by  which  the  race  is  elevated 
to  its  proper  position  in  the  scale  of  being,  or  the  true 
destiny  of  the  world  secured. 

Reformation,  strictly  speaking,  is  to  change  from 
bad  to  good,  or  from  wrong  to  right.  When  men  or 
society  are  reinstated  in  a  good  course  of  life  from 
which  they  have  fallen,  they  may  be  said  to  be  re- 
formed. It  does  not,  however,  necessarily  imply  a 
previous  fall  from  this  good  state ;  for  we  are  reformed 
when  we  have  become  better  and  wiser  men,  and  the 
process  by  which  this  is  obtained  is  the  reformation. 

There  is  great  difference  between  reformation  and 
revolution.  The  former  is  gradual  in  its  progress, 
while  the  latter  is  a  sudden  outburst  of  an  expanding 
mind  repressed.  The  design  of  the  one  is  to  secure  a 
well-defined  object,  while  the  other  seeks  to  redress 
present  grievances.  In  the  one  case,  it  is  known  be- 
forehand what  shape  affairs  will  assume  after  the  end 
is  gained ;  in  the  other,  no  one  is  careful  whether  the 
re-form  will  be  a  real  improvement.  Reformation 
will,  also,  leave  traces  of  the  old  form,  while  revolu- 
tion obliterates  every  vestige  of  it.  We  are  not,  there- 
fore, to  look  to  the  latter  to  secure  to  the  world  its  rich 
inheritance,  though  they  may  be  expected  from  the 
elements  which  are  rendered  explosive  by  their  con- 
stant mingling,  in  the  process  of  the  world's  purifica- 
tion. 

Neither  do  we  suppose  that  all  the  blessings  in  store 
for  the  world  will  be  realized  in  its  regeneration.  That 
the  hearts  of  all  men  will  be  regenerated,  so  that  it 
may  properly  be  said  the  world  is  converted  to  Christ, 


0R1CATION    DEFINED.  35 

we  confidently  believe.  There  is  nothing  that  can 
exceed  the  beauty  and  grandeur  of  the  moral  picture 
which  the  world  would  present,  were  all  hearts  radi- 
cally changed,  so  (hat  m  all  our  actions  we  should  be 
conformed  to  the  principles  of  the  Gospel.  But  even 
this  is  not  all  our  inheritance.  Without  doubt,  this  is 
the  conservative  principle  of  the  world — that  without 
wliah  every  other  blessing  will  necessarily  be  with- 
held ;  but  all  this  is  consistent  with  great  ignorance, 
and  the  partial  development  of  every  faculty  of  our 
being.  We  do  not  look  for  the  time,  in  this  world, 
when  men  will  not  need  a  "  change  of  heart."  The 
cause  of  all  our  ignorance,  vice  and  misery,  is  to  be 
found  in  our  depravity.  It  is  the  height  of  folly  to 
charge  all  our  guilt  and  misery  to  circumstances,  cli- 
mate, society,  education,  or  physical  constitution. 
The  seat  of  the  disease  is  within  U3,  and  the  removal 
of  every  external  influence  cannot  destroy  it.  It  may 
thus  be  held  in  check  and  modified,  but  not  eradicated. 
The  effect  of  the  transgression  of  our  first  parents  will 
be  felt  in  the  race  to  the  remotest  period  of  time.  But 
an  effectual  remedy  has  been  devised.  To  say  that 
the  Church  and  world  are  comparatively  ignorant  of 
the  height  and  depth,  and  length  and  breadth,  of  the 
Gospel,  is  not  transcending  the  limits  of  charity.  Our 
knowledge  in  this  respect  will  increase,  and  the  time 
will  come  when  we  shall  know  better  how  to  use  the 
means  within  our  power,  and  avail  ourselves  of  all  the 
helps  within  our  reach,  to  apply  the  prescribed  remedy 
for  the  removal  of  the  evil.  We  do  not  expect  im- 
provement in  the  Gospel  itself,  but  for  our  knowledge 
of  it  and  its  application  perfected,  so  that  the  entire 
world  not  only  shall  be  brought  to  a  knowledge  of  the 
truth  as  it  is  in  Christ,  but  even  infants,  as  soon  as 


36  PHILOSOPHY    OF    REFORM. 

they  know  good  from  evil,  shall  be  changed  and  made 
to  sing  the  praises  of  redeeming  grace. 

The  world  can  never  be  reformed  by  any  special 
reformations.  These  are  projected  to  remove  present 
abuses.  They  will,  no  doubt,  continue  as  time  rolls 
on,  and,  as  they  ever  have,  serve  the  world  as  beacon- 
lights  to  telegraph  the  truth  from  age  to  age  ;  but  they 
are  not  broad  or  extensive  enough,  neither  are  they 
designed,  to  reach  the  whole  world  and  elevate  it  to 
its  resting-place.  This  may  not  agree  with  the  prac- 
tical theory  of  the  age,  and,  indeed,  we  may  say,  of 
past  ages.  In  no  period  of  the  world's  history  have 
reforms  and  reformers  been  so  abundant  and  confident 
of  success  as  at  the  present  day.  The  instability  of 
affairs,  and  the  chaos  in  which  everything  exists,  have 
produced  this  peculiar  state  of  things.  There  is  some 
truth  and  real  worth  in  these  reforms,  and  some  good 
will  be  the  result,  as  has  been  true  of  those  of  past 
ages.  They  all  tend  to  the  great  result  we  have 
mentioned.  At  least,  there  is  some  hope  for  the  race, 
when  we  find  all  men  devising  plans  for  improvement. 
Without  doubt,  the  various  systems  of  heathenism 
were  ushered  in  as  reforms,  and,  probably,  were  real 
improvements  upon  some  previously  existing  one. 
There  is  some  truth  and  common  sense  in  the  hea- 
then's worshiping  the  sun.  To  his  dark  mind,  it  is 
the  centre  of  all  existence.  He  reveres  and  adores  the 
stars,  and  to  them  pays  his  devotion.  Do  not  these 
bright  worlds  speak  words  of  truth  to  him,  as  he  gazes 
up  into  the  blue  heavens  1  But  all  such  systems  for 
improving  the  race,  be  they  of  an  ancient  or  modern 
date,  will  have  their  day  and  die,  and  others  of  a  dif- 
ferent external  character,  yet  of  the  same  nature,  will 
occupy  their  place,  which,  in  their  turn,  will  perish ; 


KKI'OKMATION     DBTOO*  37 

until  a(  length  the  true  reformation  shall  be  introduced. 
We  do  not,  however,  expect  this  change  will  be  effect- 
ed in  a  day  or  year,  by  some  great  overturn.  Men 
are  to  be  taken  as  they  are.  They  cannot  see  or  feel 
the  need  of  all  their  being  truly  demands  at  once. 
We  are  ignorant  of  all  that  is  beyond  us.  We  usually 
embrace  all  the  truth  within  our  reach,  and  imagine 
there  is  nothing  more  beyond  us.  Therefore  our  pro- 
gress will  be  slow  and  gradual.  We  shall  receive  a 
truth  here  and  another  there,  as  we  are  made  to  feel 
the  need  of  it ;  and  thus  the  whole  building  will  be 
put  up,  strong  and  compact,  by  hewing  and  placing 
stone  after  stone  in  its  walls. 

But  this  reformation,  as  we  have  said,  will  purge 
the  world  of  sin  and  wrong.  The  great  fundamental 
principles  of  the  Gospel  will  govern  men  in  public  and 
private  life.  Our  moral  being  will  be  as  truly  con- 
formed to  the  truth  as  is  the  physical  world.  All  our 
plans,  business  and  works  will  be  projected  and  carried 
out  by  the  pure  principles  of  truth,  and  sanctioned  by 
our  Maker. 

Nor  is  this  all.  The  whole  man  will  be  conformed 
to  the  truth.  There  is  truth  in  all  things.  We  have 
wants  which  our  natures  demand  shall  be  met.  They 
are  multiplied  and  various.  There  is  a  way  to  secure 
them  that  is  strictly  conformed  to  the  truth.  There 
is,  then,  a  perfect  plan  for  everything.  There  is  a 
perfect  way  of  governing  men,  of  tilling  our  land,  of 
communicating  with  all  parts  of  the  world  for  the  va- 
rious purposes  of  life,  and,  indeed,  of  doing  all  things. 
These  perfect  ways  will  be  found  out,  and  become  a 
part  of  our  very  existence.  This  knowledge  will  be 
obtained  by  experience.  We  shall  continue  to  make 
trials  for  perfecting  our  plans  and  work,  until  it  is 


38  PHILOSOPHY    OF    REFORM. 

accomplished.  We  do  not  receive  this  knowledge  by 
some  miraculous  interposition  of  Divine  Providence, 
neither  will  the  changing  of  the  heart  effect  it.  All 
the  knowledge  that  mortals  may  obtain  we  shall,  in 
time,  possess.  There  will  be  nothing  wanting,  so  as 
to  cripple  or  hinder  us  in  our  work ;  but  all  guess- 
work, perhaps  and  probability  will  cease,  at  least  in 
respect  to  all  that  about  which  we  are  now  in  doubt, 
and  are  wrangling  and  contending.  There  can  be 
no  contention  about  what  has  been  proven  to  us. 
That  ships  can  be  moved  more  rapidly  by  steam  than 
sail,  is  a  fact  that  will  never  be  questioned;  and  the 
time  will  come  when  the  steam  engine  will  be  per- 
fectly adapted  to  its  work,  and  there  is  no  improving 
it  beyond  that  point.  When  this  is  gained,  it  will  be 
admitted,  and  no  one  will  think  of  attempting  im- 
provements. This  serves  to  illustrate  what  we  under- 
stand will  be  the  practical  state  of  the  world,  when  it 
is  conformed  to  the  whole  truth. 

The  whole  man  will  also  be  fully  developed.  Not 
only  his  moral,  but  his  physical,  social,  civil,  and 
intellectual  being  will  be  so  perfected  that  he  will 
occupy  the  position  in  the  scale  of  being  he  was  ori- 
ginally designed  to  occupy.  At  present,  our  bodies 
are  full  of  disease,  often  deformed,  weak  and  imper- 
fect;  our  intellects  but  partially  developed,  so  that  we 
scarcely  possess  more  than  the  first  rudiments  of  know- 
ledge ;  as  civil  beings,  the  majority  of  mankind  com- 
plain not  when  they  are  ruled  by  tyrants  ;  and,  in  our 
social  state,  we  are  but  little  in  advance  of  the  brute 
creation ;  while  our  moral  powers  do  not  admit  of  our 
distinguishing  right  from  wrong  in  many  instances,  or 
of  perceiving  a  vast  amount  of  truth  that  claims  our 
reception.     The  reformation  of  which  we  treat  in  the 


REFORMATION    DEFINED.  39 

following  pages,  will  restore  man  to  his  original  state 
of  innocence  and  purity,  and  exhibit  him  in  all  his 
intellectual  and  moral  power,  a  being  but  a  little  lower 
than  the  angels,  noble,  generous  and  great. 

This  reformation  was  commenced  when  God  pur- 
posed to  redeem  the  world.  It  is  His  plan  for  securing 
His  design  in  creation.  It  has  progressed  rapidly.  The 
truth  has  already  taken  deep  root  in  the  soil  of  the 
world  ;  already  its  influence  is  felt  in  every  extremity. 
Who  does  not  look  forward  with  joyous  emotion  when 
a  new  heart  shall  be  given  the  whole,  whose  pulsa- 
tions shall  yet  distribute  life  and  peace  through  the 
whole  system  1 

We  shall  only  be  able  to  state  the  general  principles 
of  this  great  reformation,  together  with  the  laws  by 
which  it  is  governed ;  yet  we  may  here  find  a  copy  for 
all  minor  reformations  which  must  be  conformed,  in 
nature  and  plan,  to  the  former.  The  reason  for  the 
failure  of  many  of  our  modern  reforms,  and  their 
injurious  and  ruinous  effects,  is,  their  want  of  this  con- 
formity. Truth  can  never  be  forced  in  its  movements, 
nor  out  of  its  legitimate  channel ;  and,  therefore,  he 
who  endeavors  to  push  the  world  to  its  final  resting 
place,  will  work  out  his  own  failure  and  disgrace. 
We  aim  to  encourage  the  reformer  with  the  courage 
truth  inspires,  and  the  world  with  the  rational  expec- 
tation of  its  rich  inheritance. 


CHAPTER     III. 


THE    WORLD    REFORMED. 

The  designs  of  God  exhibited  in  his  works— Man  fitted  for  a  higher  state 
than  he  now  occupies— God's  dealings  with  the  world — His  designs 
inferred  from  His  character— The  argument  from  the  Bible— The  gift 
of  Christ — Objections. 

Meseems,  the  designs  of  God  in  reference  to  this 
world  maybe  learned  from  His  works  and  Word.  A  few 
guides  may  be  all-important  in  prosecuting  this  inquiry. 

We  have  already  noticed  the  importance  of  system 
in  all  our  efforts.  He  who  labors  without  system  is 
at  war  with  nature,  and  every  principle  of  truth. 

Definite  design  is  of  no  less  importance  than  system. 
He  who  puts  forth  great  efforts — though  his  strength 
were  herculean,  and  his  wisdom  and  skill  that  of  the 
wisest  and  skillfulest — without  a  definite  object,  will 
beat  the  air ;  and,  indeed,  his  very  efforts,  in  their  reac- 
tion, will  prove  his  destruction. 

The  converse  of  these  facts  is  equally  true.  A 
great  and  good  object  gained,  evinces  both  system  and 
design.  May  it  not  also  be  affirmed  that  the  wisdom 
of  this  class  of  men  bears  good  proportion  to  the  great- 
ness of  the  object,  and  the  difficulties  to  be  encoun- 
tered in  obtaining  it  1 

As  a  general  truth,  it  may  be  stated,  when  an  object 
is  presented,  and  a  system  perfected  for  obtaining  it, 
the  work  is  not  abandoned  so  long  as  there  is  rational 


THE    WORLD    REFORMED.  41 

hope  of  success.  To  abandon  a  good  and  worthy- 
enterprise,  is  evidence,  either  of  the  want  of  wisdom 
or  power  to  successfully  prosecute  it ;  or,  it  is  aban- 
doned for  another,  and  in  the  latter  case,  provided  the 
individual  was  morally  obligated  to  continue  in  the 
former,  a  want  of  virtue  or  correct  moral  principle. 

Hence  we  may  infer,  if  a  being  of  infinite  wisdom, 
goodness  and  resources,  has  purposed  to  secure  a  sin- 
gle object,  and  organized  his  plans  accordingly,  he 
will  not  abandon  the  work.  A  surmise  to  the  contrary  is 
calling  in  question  the  wisdom  and  power  of  that  being. 

It  is  equally  evident  that  the  works  of  that  being 
will  reveal  his  design  and  plan,  even  should  he  not 
see  fit  to  make  them  known  in  any  other  way.  The 
machinist  has  his  design  and  plan  "  in  his  head,"  but 
his  work  is  a  complete  enigma  to  the  casual  observer. 
When  the  several  parts  of  it  are  finished,  and  he 
begins  to  put  them  together,  and,  especially  when 
they  are  put  together  and  placed  in  the  mighty  ship, 
a  curiously  wrought  steam  engine,  and  that  ship  begins 
to  move  rapidly  and  safely,  it  is  then  apparent  that  his 
object  was  to  increase  the  speed  of  vessels,  and  the  agent 
he  employed,  the  power  of  steam.  The  folly  of  those 
who  ridiculed  is  now  acknowledged.  It  was  sincere, 
no  doubt,  but  it  would  never  have  been  indulged  had 
the  object  and  plan  of  this  builder  been  fully  and  per- 
fectly exhibited  in  the  beginning. 

Has  God  a  design  in  reference  to  this  world,  or  has 
He  not  1  Has  He  a  plan  or  system  to  accomplish  this 
design,  or  has  He  not  ?  Are  these  facts  revealed  in 
what  exists  around  us,  or  are  they  not  *? 

Man,  cteated  a  little  lower  in  the  scale  of  being 
than  the  angels,  is  pre-eminent  among  God's  works  ; 
and    an  examination,  therefore,  of  his    nature  will 


42  PHILOSOPHY    OF    REFORM. 

materially  aid  us  in  the  illustration  of  this  subject. 
That  steamship,  with  its  broken  shaft  and  decaying- 
timbers,  lies  useless  upon  the  stocks ;  yet  who  will 
contend  it  was  built  for  uselessness  1  By  a  mishap  it 
is  disabled  ;  still,  the  design  of  the  builder  is  evidently 
to  transport  passengers  and  merchandise  from  port  to 
port.  May  we  not  conclude  from  the  very  existence  of 
that  ship,  if  she  can  be  fitted  without  too  great  expense, 
that  she  will  do  this,  and  the  full  designs  of  her  owner 
be  realized  1  Does  the  breaking  of  the  shaft,  or  the 
necessity  of  her  being  newly  caulked  and  coppered, 
which  causes  her  to  be  laid  up  for  the  season,  prove 
that  her  owner's  intention  was  not  what  we  have 
mentioned'?  Why  all  the  expense  and  care  in  the 
outset,  if  the  object  was  not  for  what  she  is  well 
fitted  1 

We  are  governed  by  the  same  principle  in  all  our 
various  employments.  When  our  building  burns 
down  or  decays,  we  replace  it  with  a  new  one.  When 
we  break  or  wear  out  our  axe  or  watch,  we  obtain 
another  to  supply  its  place.  We  do  not  give  up,  as 
lost,  the  good  we  hoped  to  gain  by  the  proper  and 
skillful  use  of  the  article,  when  it  is  destroyed.  The 
article  itself  exhibited  our  design  ;  its  destruction  can- 
not prove  that  no  such  design  ever  existed. 

Man  comes  into  the  world  a  weak  and  helpless 
infant.  It  requires  years  to  strengthen  the  powers  and 
facukies  of  his  physical  system  sufficiently  to  enable 
him  to  be  of  any  service  to  himself  or  others.  And, 
in  respect  to  the  powers  and  faculties  of  the  mind,  his 
affections  and  feelings,  they  are  apparently  non-exist- 
ent. Yet  they  are  all  folded  up  in  the  tender  bud, 
and  long  years  of  patient  toil  are  required  to  develop 
them.     Leaf  after  leaf  is  unfolded  by  the  skillful  hand 


THE    WORLD    REFORMED.  43 

of  lime,  even  till  old  age  comes  creeping  on  and 
withers  the  still  flourishing  plant. 

There  is  the  infant  in  the  cradle,  helpless  as  we 
have  described  him,  and  here  is  the  man  of  middle 
age,  with  a  strong  and  vigorous  physical  constitution, 
his  mind  largely  expanded,  capable  of  penetrating 
the  most  intricate  and  abstruse  subjects,  and  even  of 
measuring  the  heavens,  weighing  the  planets,  chain- 
ing the  lightning,  and  of  unfolding  to  the  world  facts 
and  truths  of  the  utmost  importance  to  our  well-being 
here  and  hereafter.  Here  he  stands,  good  and  great, 
upon  the  shores  of  truth  and  knowledge,  whose  ocean 
stretches  out  before  him  beyond  the  penetration  of  his 
imagination  even,  with  his  feelings  refined  and  chas- 
tened, and  his  whole  soul  thrilling  with  joy  under  the 
influence  of  the  thought  of  what  he  is  and  may  be. 
He  has  struggled  hard  to  obtain  his  present  position. 
He  has  battled  with  wind  and  wave,  but  triumphed 
thus  far  over  every  opposing  difficulty,  and  here  we 
find  him — haggard,  perhaps,  through  toil — what  we 
sometimes,  though  falsely,  call  a  full-grown  man. 
It  is  wonderful,  yet  how  true,  that  infant  was  de- 
signed for  this  very  station.  He  has,  in  embryo,  all 
the  faculties  and  feelings  which,  when  once  suffi- 
ciently developed,  will  place  him  there.  Newton, 
Luther  and  Washington  were  once  infants,  weak  and 
helpless.  They  gained  the  position  they  occupied  by 
the  development  of  what  then  existed,  and  not  by  the 
creation  of  any  new  faculty.  Who  created  this  man  1 
We  answer,  the  same  Being  who  made  the  infant. 
Was  not  the  infant  designed  to  be  a  man  1 

Suppose  sin  has  blighted  and  withered  these  rich 
plants,  it  has  not  killed  them.  The  mind  still  lives, 
for  its  existence  is  deathless,  and  every  new  develop- 


44  PHILOSOPHY     OF    REFORM. 

ment  shows  that  it  was  designed  to  be  virtuous  and 
great.  Who  will  dare  contend — since  many  infants 
die,  and  many  are  enfeebled  by  disease,  and  all  more 
or  less  affected,  so  that  but  few,  or  even  none,  attain 
the  full  stature  of  a  man — that  our  Maker  did  not  de- 
sign that  infants  should  be  men  1  Their  growth  to 
half-grown  men — their  growth  in  any  degree,  is  proof 
that  God  designed  them  to  grow  up  to  full  maturity. 
In  a  similar  way  we  might  reason  in  reference  to  the 
faculties  and  powers  of  the  mind.  Their  very  exist- 
ence proves  that  they  were  designed  to  be  fully  de- 
veloped in  this  world,  and  that  man  should  exist  in 
that  state  of  mind  which  shall  secure  to  him  a  far 
larger  share  of  happiness  than  he  has  hitherto  enjoyed. 

The  ignorant  and  benighted  heathen  are  men  like 
ourselves,  and  possessed  of  the  same  natures  in  every 
respect.  From  vice  and  ignorance,  in  which  they 
have  been  steeped  for  years,  they  have  become  almost 
demented,  so  that  they  are  but  little  above  the  brutes 
in  intelligence.  Compared  with  Americans,  and,  in- 
deed, with  most  Europeans,  they  are  infants.  This 
moral  and  intellectual  soil  is  such,  as  to  preclude  the 
possibility  of  the  present  generation  attaining  to  full 
manhood.  Who  are  we  who  boast  of  virtue  and 
intelligence  1  Even  our  ancestors  were  idolaters,  and 
the  state  of  society  in  which  they  lived,  heathenism. 
Those  heathen  nations  are  now  upon  the  stocks  ;  they 
will,  in  time,  be  refitted,  and  brought  out  upon  the 
sea  of  life  in  all  their  pristine  beauty  and  strength. 

There  is  a  height,  or  state  of  perfection,  to  which 
everything  naturally  tends.  We  have  the  measure  of 
this  state  in  most  particulars.  We  have  obtained  it  by 
experience,  trial,  or  measurement.  For  instance,  we 
know  how  a  particular  species  of  grain  ought  to  yield, 


THE    WORLD    REFORMED.  tfg 

mid  how  much  it  will  yield  under  favorable  cinum 
stances.  We  are  accustomed  to  say,  it  will  yield  such 
a  quantity  and  quality  per  acre.  It  can  never  yield 
beyond  that,  for  so  much  is  perfection.  So  of  that 
beast  of  burden,  or  of  that  wild  beast.  Here  is  the  pat- 
tern— so  high,  so  strong,  of  this  shape  and  color.  Let 
tin  in  live  as  they  were  designed,  and  they  will  attain 
that  state.  Nature  is  true  to  her  own  laws,  therefore, 
unless  something  chances  to  thwart  her  in  her  work, 
they  will  all  become  perfect,  in  their  kind ;  and  there 
is  no  improving  them  beyond  that. 

We  have  no  measure  of  a  perfect  man,  or  of  that 
stale  to  which  he  was  designed  to  attain,  except  it  be 
in  the  person  of  Christ.  Still,  we  say,  this  pattern  is 
marked  in  the  mind  of  God,  and  He  is  constantly  re- 
vealing it  to  us  in  His  dealings  with  the  world.  We 
shall  continue  to  improve  till  we  have  secured  it.  We 
have  been  advancing  towards  it  since  the  fall.  Ages 
may  roll  away,  and  generation  after  generation  die 
and  moulder  in  the  dust,  yet,  as  sure  as  a  blade  of  grass 
will  attain  a  certain  height,  color,  and  richness,  in  soil 
and  climate  adapted  to  its  nature ;  as  sure  as  an  animal 
will  attain  the  full  growth  of  his  species,  under  favor- 
able circumstances,  so  sure  will  the  whole  being  of 
man  be  perfected  in  this  life.  It  may  require  ages  of 
toil  and  care,  on  the  part  of  our  Maker,  yet  His  re- 
sources are  infinite,  and  His  compassion  exhaustless ; 
and  we  may  reasonably  expect  He  will  never  abandon 
His  work,  until  all  He  has  purposed  relative  to  man  is 
obtained.  It  will  not  do  to  quarrel  with  the  seeming 
delay  in  this  work,  for  it  progresses  as  fast  as  infinite 
wisdom  and  power  can  urge  it  on.  It  is  a  great  work. 
Its  object  is  to  remove  from  the  race  a  chronic  disease 
of  ages  standing.     We  have  confidence  in  the  remedy, 


46  PHILOSOPHY    OF    REFORM. 

however  slow  it  may  operate,  that  it  will  effect  a  perfect 
cure,  and  thus  save  this  feeble  and  cursed  world  from 
destruction. 

God  has  been  dealing  with  the  race  for  ages — He  is 
dealing  with  it  still — for  the  purpose  of  developing  or 
bringing  out  into  clear  being  the  whole  man.  Let  us 
examine  this  thought  more  closely.  He  who  is  a  careful 
and  philosophical  student  has  not  failed  to  observe 
that  all  events  are  intimately  connected,  and  that  all 
have  a  close  relation  to,  and  an  important  bearing  upon, 
each  other.  We  may  also  see,  standing  in  the  nineteenth 
century  and  surveying  the  history  of  nearly  six  thou- 
sand years,  that  periods,  and  the  events  of  those  periods, 
have  come  and  gone,  not  haphazard,  or  without  any 
fixed  laws  or  principles,  but  were  brought  about 
and  managed  by  an  overruling  hand  of  wisdom. 
Events  which,  at  the  time  of  their  existence,  were 
looked  upon  as  strange  and  calamitous,  we  now  see 
were  legitimate,  from  existing  facts ;  and,  indeed,  ne- 
cessary in  completing  some  wise  and  good  design. 
Each  succeeding  age  has  added  some  new  thought, 
principle,  or  fact  to  the  world's  library,  and  passed 
away,  with  all  its  bustle  and  contention,  with  the  con- 
dition of  man  either  radically  improved,  or,  at  least, 
with  the  means  put  in  train,  which,  when  their  whole 
influence  is  felt,  shall  accomplish  this  object.  We  ad- 
mit that  the  whole  world — every  nation  and  people — has 
not  been  advanced  alike  in  intelligence  and  virtue,  yet 
it  has  gone  forward,  and  the  few  bright  spots  that  exist, 
are  the  evidence  of  what  is  forthcoming.  It  is  too  late 
to  contend  that  the  world  is  retrograding,  or  that  it  has 
ever  gone  backward.  A  truth  once  gained  is  never 
lost.  It  may  possibly  be  lost  to  a  single  portion  of 
the  world,  but  to  the  whole  it  can  never  be.     When 


.tP! 


THE    WORLD    REFORMED*  UK*  TYPHIS  I 

was  the  world  ever  so  far  advanced  in  tl 
of  the  mis  ;hk1  sciences,  and,  as  a  whole 
literature,  philosophy  and  theology?  When  has  it 
been  so  well  prepared  to  make  advancement  in 
every  department  of  truth,  as  at  the  present  time? 
Rich  treasures,  which  hitherto  have  been  beyond 
our  sight  and  reach,  are  now  spread  out  before  us  in 
great  abundance.  We  are  just  opening  our  eyes, 
and  beginning  to  see  and  feel  the  necessity  of  casting 
away  the  tinsel  trash  we  have  prized  so  highly,  and  of 
recovering  this  true  wealth,  that  may  be  bad  for  the 
gathering.  Of  what  is  before  us,  we  have,  as  yet,  but 
the  shadow.  The  world  has  been  brought,  by  a  wind- 
ing way  through  a  dense  wilderness,  to  its  present 
position,  but  brighter  days  await  us.  Stretched  out 
before  us  is  the  land  of  promise,  with  rich  fields  and 
running  streams,  and  a  pure  and  holy  atmosphere, 
adapted  to  the  full  development  of  man,  and  the  culti- 
vation of  every  faculty  of  the  mind,  in  the  most  perfect 
degree. 

We  are  far  in  advance  of  any  other  period  of  the  his- 
tory of  the  world.  In  many  former  periods,  individuals 
may  have  arisen  and  shone  out  amid  the  multitude,  as 
bright  stars  through  an  opening  cloud,  or  have  darted 
like  a  blazing  meteor  through  the  surrounding  dark- 
ness. They  were  men  who  made  improvements,  with- 
out doubt  real  ones,  upon  the  philosophy  or  religion  of 
the  day.  Thus  Socrates,  Plato,  and  others,  in  different 
ages,  succeeded  in  developing  some  new  truth,  and  in 
improving  the  systems  of  morals  and  philosophy. 
They  were  hailed  by  the  world,  and  regarded  by  suc- 
ceeding generations,  as  prodigies  of  learning,  as  gods 
almost,  that  had  come  down  to  dwell  with  men. 
Their  systems  were  embraced  and  followed.  They 
3 


4g  PHILOSOPHY    OF    REFORM. 

had  pushed  their  inquiries  to  the  fartherest  known 
boundary  of  knowledge,  therefore,  they  were,  in  their 
own  estimation,  and  in  that  of  their  followers,  perfect 
in  all  truth.  We  look  upon  them,  at  the  present  day, 
and,  regarding  all  the  circumstances,  wonder  they  suc- 
ceeded so  well.  Still  we  are  now  able  to  detect  their 
errors,  and  perceive  their  folly ;  and,  in  comparing 
them  with  the  wise  men  of  the  present  age,  unhesita- 
tingly pronounce  them  mere  infants.  By  placing  our- 
selves beside  the  Chinese  or  Mahometans,  and  marking 
the  contrast,  we  are  able  to  see  the  world's  advanced 
state  beyond  that  of  more  than  ten  centuries  ago. 
These  kingdoms  have  remained  stationary.  The  views, 
and  theories,  and  notions,  established  among  them 
when  they  were  founded,  have  never  been  changed. 
Many  other  portions  of  the  world  have  been  stretching 
on  towards  the  position  the  world  is  destined  to  occupy, 
but  these  kingdoms,  shut  up  within  themselves,  and 
strictly  guarded  on  every  side,  have  succeeded  in  ren- 
dering innovation  impossible.  Each  succeeding  gene- 
ration has  only  aimed  to  occupy  the  position  of  its  pre- 
decessor, without  making  the  least  advancement  in  any 
department  of  truth.  Thus  shut  out  from  the  world, 
without  any  influence  in  its  affairs,  they  should  not  be 
regarded  a  part  of  the  world,  any  more  than  the  indi- 
vidual that  is  buried  in  the  cloister.  They  make  up  a 
portion  of  it,  'tis  true,  but  they  are  like  unknown  mines, 
they  are  as  though  they  were  not.  The  other  nations, 
whom  God  has  advanced  in  the  truth,  are  like  bright 
lights  around  them.  Their  darkness  will  yet  be  exhibit- 
ed, felt,  and  fled  from.  Therefore,  because  only  a  part 
of  the  world  occupies  the  advanced  posts  of  civilization, 
it  cannot  be  said  the  race  is  not  advancing  in  truth  and 
knowledge.     The  enlightened  portions  mstke  up  what 


THE    WORLD    REFORM  IP.  49 

may,  very  properly,  be  regarded  the  world,  far  il 
possess  its  influence  and  life;  and  they  control  all  thai 
makes  nj>  us  valuable  history. 

From  the  history  of  the  enlightened,  we  may  learn 
the  destiny  of  the  unenlightened,  portions  of  the  world. 
Now  no  one  will  doubt,  in  respect  to  this  enlightening 
and  Christianizing  the  world,  of  its  being  a  great  and 
glorious  work.  It  has  been  carried  on,  also,  with  good 
success.  Plans  and  measures,  upon  an  enlightened 
and  extensive  scale,  to  carry  it  out  to  completion,  have 
l»een  put  in  operation.  The  work  is  every  way  worthy 
of  God,  and  one  which  He  alone  is  capable  of  design- 
ing and  executing.  Man,  as  we  have  seen,  is  evidently 
designed  for  a  state  far  in  advance  of  what  he  has  ever 
yet  attained.  Now  we  ask,  with  all  these  facts  before 
us,  shall  this  work  be  accomplished  ?  Will  our  Maker 
fail  in  His  evident  undertaking  ?  Has  it  lost  its  interest 
in  His  estimation  ?  Does  it  require  too  long  a  time  to 
effect  His  designs  ?  Have  His  resources  failed  ?  Has  He 
become  discouraged,  from  the  apparent  slow  progress  ? 
Did  He  not  count  the  cost  at  the  beginning  ?  Did  He 
not  know  from  the  beginning  all  that  He  now  knows, 
or  ever  can  know,  respecting  it?  Most  assuredly; 
and,  therefore,  to  say  He  has  not  designed,  and  will  not 
accomplish  His  object,  in  time,  is  to  call  in  question 
His  wisdom  and  power.  Suppose  sin  has  entered  the 
world,  and  deranged  His  plans,  has  He  abandoned  His 
object?  Has  He  kept  it  in  existence  for  so  long  a  pe- 
riod since  sin  entered  it,  and  been  at  such  vast  expense 
to  reform  it,  for  naught?  Is  this  grand  plan  to  restore 
man  all  a  farce? 

Let  us  for  a  moment  contemplate  the  vast  expense 
laid  out,  and  the  care  and  interest  manifested,  in  fitting 
up  the  world  for  the  habitation  of  man.     We  may 


50  PHILOSOPHY    OF    REFORM. 

possibly  find  an  argument  here  that  will  aid  material- 
ly in  establishing  our  position.  God  made  the  world, 
whether  in  six  days,  or  six  thousand  years,  it  matters 
nothing  in  respect  to  our  argument.  He  made  also 
the  sea  and  the  dry  land.  He  gave  life  to  all  that  ex- 
ists— the  fish  of  the  sea,  the  birds  of  the  air  and  the 
beasts  of  the  field.  He  clothed  the  earth  with  beauty 
and  made  it  to  bring  forth  abundantly  for  the  suste- 
nance of  every  living  creature.  He  looked  abroad  upon 
the  face  of  the  whole  and  pronounced  it  good.  He 
created  man  also,  and  placed  him  in  the  midst  of  the 
world,  gave  him  dominion  over  all  things,  and  bade 
him  live,  multiply  and  be  happy. 

The  world  was,  therefore,  evidently  made  for  man. 
It  was  fitted  up  at  vast  expense  and  care.  No  one  but 
God  himself  had  the  resources,  power,  or  interest  to 
do  it.  It  was  a  rich  garden  planted  by  His  hand  with 
man,  created  in  His  image,  and  with  a  nature  just 
fitted  to  the  situation  in  which  he  was  placed,  and  the 
situation  in  every  respect  adapted  to  the  full  develop- 
ment of  his  whole  being,  placed  in  the  midst  thereof 
to  till  and  keep  it.  The  enemy  entered  and  despoiled 
this  fruitful  heritage.  As  a  consequence  death  reigns 
through  the  earth.  May  we  not,  therefore,  conclude, 
had  the  object  of  Deity  been  anything  less  than  a  full 
restoration  of  man,  He  would  have  abandoned  the 
world  at  once  !  Instead  of  this,  He  has  watched  over 
it  for  ages  with  all  the  interest  and  pity  of  a  parent. 
He  put  means  in  operation  to  improve  its  condition. 
He  has  already  effected  much.  Still,  there  are  those 
who  tell  us,  it  never  will  be  reformed  and  made  per- 
fect before  God.  If  this  be  true,  tell  me  how  we  may 
reconcile  the  dealings  of  the  Creator  with  justice  and 
wjsdom  1     Why  this  vast  expense,  and  care  and  inter- 


THE    WORLD    REFORMED.  51 

est,  if  He  has  nothing  in  reserve  for  our  race  better 
than  what  we  now  enjoy  ?  Why  fit  up  the  earth  as 
man's  home  at  all,  if  Me  is  to  give  us  up  at  last  to  the 
power  of  Satan  to  become  his  prey  forever  ?  Oh  ! 
teach  us  no  such  gloomy  and  crushing  doctrines. 
Away  witli  them,  they  are  infinitely  derogatory  to  a 
holy  God,  and  we  will  not  believe  them.  This  world 
was  made  for  our  home.  \\V  arc  fitted  for  DO  other 
place  in  the  universe.  Here  we  are  placed  for  a  spe- 
cific object.  That  object  has  not  yet  been  obtained. 
As  our  Maker  lives,  it  must  and  will  be  obtained. 
Here,  then,  is  evidence  of  his  design  in  creation.  Has 
he  abandoned  it  1  As  well  might  we  ask :  has  God 
ceased  to  exist  1 

We  come  now  to  speak  of  the  character  of  God  as 
exhibiting  his  design  to  reform  the  world.  It  is  given 
us  in  the  Scriptures  and  revealed  in  everything  around 
us.  It  is  comprehended  in  a  single  word,  for  "God  is 
love."  We  understand,  then,  that  God  is  supremely 
devoted  to  doing  good ;  and  that,  the  highest  good  of 
all  beings,  his  whole  being  is  consecrated  to  promote. 
Benevolence  constitutes  the  state  of  his  will.  His 
character,  therefore,  is,  and  eternally  has  been,  benev- 
olent. Hence  he  has  sought  the  highest  good  of  the 
universe,  in  all  that  he  has  done,  is  doing,  or  ever 
will  do.  Indeed,  he  cannot  act  in  reference  to  any- 
thing else. 

This  being  his  character,  it  follows  that  all  he  has 
ever  done,  has  been  in  executing  this  benevolent  in- 
tention to  promote  the  highest  happiness  of  the  being 
he  has  made.  The  bare  supposition  to  the  contrary 
would  involve  a  contradiction.  On  this  object  his 
heart  is  set.  Towards  this,  his  whole  soul  is  devoted, 
and  every  act  must  necessarily  have  reference  to  it. 


52  PHILOSOPHY    OF    REFORM. 

And  furthermore,  being  infinitely  wise,  and  knowing 
from  the  beginning  all  facts  and  things,  it  would  be 
impossible  for  him  not  to  know  what  is  for  the  best, 
and,  being  possessed  of  all  power,  he  will  not  omit 
what  the  highest  good  demands.  It  is  also  equally 
evident  that  in  executing  his  benevolent  intention,  he 
will  prevent,  so  far  as  he  can  consistently,  everything 
in  the  universe  that  would  prove  injurious  to  his  crea- 
tures. There  may  be  evils  incidental  to  the  system  by 
which  he  has  chosen  to  govern  the  universe,  but  they 
are  such  as  could  not  be  wisely  hindered.  It  will  not 
do  to  say  :  he  might  have  chosen  some  other  system  of 
government ;  for  infinite  wisdom  has  pronounced  the 
one  he  has  adopted  to  be  the  best.  This  would  be 
charging  him  with  folly.  He  will  never  suffer  the 
existence  of  an  evil  that  he  can  prevent  without  caus- 
ing a  worse  injury.  He  will  not  prevent  others  sin- 
ning, when,  by  so  doing,  he  must  sin  himself.  That 
is,  he  will  never  sacrifice  the  greater  for  the  lesser  good. 
It  may  also  be  remarked,  that  he  will  overrule  the  in- 
cidental evils  for  the  good  of 'the  race  and  his  own 
glory,  for,  "  He  will  cause  the  wrath  of  man  to  praise 
him."  We  cannot  reason  from  the  character  of  God, 
that  he  would  create  the  world,  or  any  other  part  of 
the  universe ;  but,  as  the  world  has  been  created  and 
inhabited,  we  conclude  it  has  been  done  in  that  way, 
and  with  such  people,  and  that  he  has  given  us  just 
such  laws  as  were  dictated  by  infinite  good-willing. 

We  also  infer,  from  the  character  of  God,  that  the 
good  will  overbalance  the  evil  in  the  universe.  Could 
a  benevolent  being  have  purposed  the  existence  of 
creation,  had  he  known  it  would  produce  greater  evil 
than  good?  By  no  means.  The  majority  of  God's 
creatures  will  be  happy.     The  moral  evil  of  this  world 


THE    WORLD    REFORMED.  || 

will  not  overbalance  the  good,  neither  will  the  num- 
bers lost  exceed  those  saved,  but  hell  itself  will  be  but 
a  dark  spot  in  creation,  a  small  prison-house  compared 
with  the  innumerable  company  of  the  redeemed.  We 
admit  the  road  to  perdition  is  broad  and  many  go  in 
thereat,  but  this,  by  no  means,  proves  that  the  greater 
part  of  the  rare,  us  (hey  will  Ik?  numbered  at  the  final 
consummation  of  all  things,  will  be  lost.  How  arc 
we  to  reconcile  the  benevolence  of  the  Deity  with  the 
doctrine,  that  the  creation  of  this  world  will  result  in 
more  evil  than  good,  more  misery  than  happiness? 

We  know  something  of  the  nature  of  man,  of  the 
capability  of  the  mind  to  increase  in  strength,  and  of 
the  peculiar  adaptation  of  the  affections,  or  emotions, 
to  produce  happiness.  We  also  know,  as  he  is,  there 
is  no  ol  her  place  in  the  universe  fitted  for  him  but  the 
earth  he  occupies,  and  even  this  but  poorly  since  the 
fall.  Here  he  may  live  and  give  full  development  to 
his  whole  being.  Now,  may  we  not  conclude,  from 
the  character  of  God  and  the  nature  of  man,  that  his 
design  must  necessarily  have  been  just  what  we  are 
naturally  fitted  for?  This  must  have  been  his  original 
intention.  But  who  will  assert  that  should  the  world 
continue  on  as  now  till  the  termination  of  its  existence 
that  the  good  would  overbalance  the  evil  ?  The  very 
opposite  would  be  true,  to  an  untold  extent.  Count 
up  the  tears  and  groans,  and  portray  the  misery  and 
pain  that  have  been  caused  by  sin,  who  can.  We 
dare  not  attempt  it.  How  dark  the  picture  is  !  Shall 
not  brighter  days  come?  Besides,  rather  than  have 
the  world,  no  more  reformed  than  at  present,  exist  for 
ages  with  the  evil  overbalancing  the  good,  and  no 
prospect  of  anything  better,  the  truest  benevolence 
would  have  caused  God  to  wind  up  the  scene  at  once, 


54  PHILOSOPHY    OF    REFORM. 

or  rather,  it  would  never  have  permitted  him  to  create 
it.  A  small  part  of  our  earth  has  become  enlightened 
to  a  limited  degree.  We  are  thus  able  to  see  that  the 
entire  race  can  be  advanced  to  our  present  state.  Will 
it  be  a  greater  miracle,  or  a  greater  work  to  advance 
the  whole  world  on  to  a  vastly  greater  state  of  civili- 
zation, than  to  secure  us  in  our  present  position  from 
a  condition  almost  as  degraded  as  that  of  the  most  be- 
nighted heathen  1  We  may  imagine  it  would  require 
a  miracle  indeed,  to  bring  up  the  poor  Hottentot  to  a . 
high  state  of  civilization,  but  as  great  a  miracle  has 
been  performed  in  our  own  history.  Our  eyes  have 
been  opened,  and  we  can  now  see  what  can  be  done. 
Now  tell  me,  was  it  not  God's  design  to  elevate  us  to 
the  highest  possible  degree,  to  which  we  are  capable, 
in  this  life  ?  Does  not  his  character  teach  us  this  1 
Could  he  have  designed  anything  less  1  It  will  not 
do  to  say  :  This  may  have  been  his  original  intention, 
but  because  of  sin,  he  has  abandoned  it.  Sin  may 
have  caused  delay  in  its  accomplishment,  but  to  set  it 
aside  were  impossible.  It  was  his  eternal  purpose  to 
make  man,  and  make  him  as  he  did,  and  place  him 
where  he  did,  and  as  a  benevolent  being,  he  must  have 
designed  his  highest  elevation.  A  thousand  falls,  and 
depravity  that  is  as  black  as  the  midnight  of  the  second 
death,  cannot  turn  him  from  his  purpose.  What! 
has  his  courage  failed,  or  has  his  arm  become  short- 
ened that  he  cannot  save?  What  cruel  mockery,  if 
not  treachery  and  infidelity,  to  imagine  any  such 
thing ! 

We  have  a  right  to  say,  should  the  Creator  not  tho- 
roughly reform  this  world,  that  his  works  and  word 
are  one  stupendous  system  of  mockery.  Hopes,  the 
most  dear  and  long-cherished,  have  been  raised,  never 


tin:    WORLD    i;k  FORMED.  55 

to  be  realized.  Created  with  a  nature  adapted  to,  and 
desirous  of,  such  a  state  of  things,  and  yet  he  fail  to 
bring  us  there !  No  !  we  would  sooner  turn  Atheists, 
and  burn  our  Bibles,  and  abjure  the  God  who  made 
us,  than  adopt  such  a  belief. 

Here,  then,  we  have  the  design  of  God,  in  reference 
to  this  world,  fully  exhibited.  Here  is  man,  with 
every  impulse  in  his  heart  towards  the  good  and  true, 
with  every  cheering  approbation  of  right  action,  exhib- 
iting what  he  may  be,  and  for  what  he  was  created. 
It  is  the  faint  evidence  of  life  in  the  inner  man  open- 
ing the  eye  and  panting  for  breath.  Behold  man, 
naturally  great  and  good,  prostrate  upon  the  earth, 
amid  the  rubbish,  dying,  yet  not  dead  !  He  is  like  a 
ruined  temple,  whose  shafts  and  columns,  broken  and 
scattered,  tell  us  of  the  greatness,  splendor  and  gran- 
deur of  the  building,  when  in  all  its  glory.  There  is 
enough  in  man,  in  his  noble  deeds,  approval  of  virtue, 
and  in  his  aspiring  after  greatness,  to  show  what  he 
was,  what  he  may  be,  and  what  he  will,  one  day,  be. 
This  man,  whom  it  has  taxed  the  ingenuity  and  skill 
of  Heaven  to  create,  broken,  to  be  sure,  in  the  fall, 
must  yet  be  restored  to  his  original  state.  This  is 
cheering.  But,  as  holiness  is  man's  legitimate  work, 
he  can  be  happy  in  no  other  ;  therefore,  this  will  be  a 
poor,  deranged  and  cursed  world,  until  sin  is  purged 
out  of  it ;  and  man  will  be  a  miserable  halting  cripple 
— a  poor,  sick  lion — until  his  depravity  is  effectually 
wrought  out  of  him. 

We  will  now,  in  as  brief  a  manner  as  our  object  will 
allow,  trace  the  Bible  argument  for  the  world's  tho- 
rough reformation.     We  are  aware  that  a  single  text, 
that  naturally  teaches  this  doctrine,  provided  there  is 
3* 


56  PHILOSOPHY    OF    REFORM. 

no  other  that  contradicts  it,  would  prove  it,  beyond 
gainsay,  as  truly  as  a  thousand  of  the  same  import. 
But  we  wish  to  put  this  doctrine  beyond  the  shadow  of 
a  doubt,  in  every  mind,  therefore  we  shall  quote  as 
many  passages,  in  proof  of  this  position,  as  our  limits 
will  allow. 

I.  Truth)  and  the  means  for  obtaining  it,  shall  be 
vastly  increased. 

"  The  earth  shall  be  full  of  the  knowledge  of  the 
Lord,  as  the  waters  cover  the  sea." — Isa.  xi.,  9. 

"  In  that  day  shall  the  deaf  hear  the  words  of  the 
book,  and  the  eyes  of  the  blind  shall  see  out  of  obscu- 
rity, and  out  of  darkness." — Isa.  xxix.,  ]8. 

"  I  will  open  rivers  in  high  places,  and  fountains  in 
the  midst  of  the  valleys  ;  I  will  make  the  wilderness  a 
pool  of  water,  and  the  dry  land  springs  of  water." — 
Isa.  xli.,  18. 

"  How  beautiful  upon  the  mountains  are  the  feet  of 
him  that  bringeth  good  tidings,  that  publisheth  peace ; 
that  bringeth  good  tidings  of  good,  that  publisheth  sal- 
vation ;  that  saith  unto  Zion,  Thy  God  reigneth  !  Thy 
watchmen  shall  lift  up  the  voice ;  with  the  voice 
together  shall  they  sing  :  for  they  shall  see  eye  to  eye, 
when  the  Lord  shall  bring  again  Zion." — Isa.  lii.,  7  8. 

"  Many  shall  run  to  and  fro,  and  knowledge  shall 
be  increased. — Dan.  xii.,  4. 

II.  Peace  shall  be  universal. 

"  And  they  shall  beat  their  swords  into  ploughshares, 
and  their  spears  into  pruning-hooks  :  nation  shall  not 
lift  up  sword  against  nation,  neither  shall  they  learn 
war  any  more." — Isa.  ii.,  4. 

"  The  wolf  also  shall  dwell  with  the  lamb,  and  the 


THE    WORLD    REFORMED.  57 

leopard  shall  lie  down  with  the  kid  ;  and  the  calf,  and 
the  young  lion  and  the  fading  together;  and  a  little 
child  shall  lead  them.  And  the  cow  and  the  bear 
shall  feed  ;  their  young  ones  shall  lie  down  together  ; 
and  the  lion  shall  eat  straw  like  the  ox.  And  the 
sucking  child  shall  play  on  the  hole  of  the  asp,  and 
the  weaned  child  shall  put  his  hand  on  the  cockatrice's 
den.  They  shall  not  hurt  nor  destroy  in  all  my  holy 
mountain." — Isa.  xi.  6-9. 

III.  The  kingdoms  of  this  world  shall  become  the 
kingdoms  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

"  Thus  saith  the  Lord,  the  Redeemer  of  Israel,  and 
his  Holy  One,  to  him  whom  man  despiseth,  to  him 
whom  the  nation  abhorreth,  to  a  servant  of  rulers, 
Kings  shall  see  and  arise,  princes  also  shall  worship, 
because  of  the  Lord  that  is  faithful,  and  the  Holy 
One  of  Israel,  and  he  shall  choose  thee.  *  *  *  And 
kings  shall  be  thy  nursing  fathers,  and  their  queens 
thy  nursing  mothers :  they  shall  bow  down  to  thee 
their  faces  toward  the  earth,  and  lick  up  the  dust  of 
thy  feet;  and  thou  shalt  know  that  I  am  the  Lord  : 
for  they  shall  not  be  ashamed  that  wait  for  me." — 
Isa.  xlix.,  7,  23. 

"And  the  Gentiles  shall  come  to  thy  light,  and 
kings  to  the  brightness  of  thy  rising." — Isa.  lx.,  3 — 
see  10-16. 

"  And  all  dominions  shall  serve  and  obey  him." — 
Dan.  vii.,  27. 

IV.  A  Church  was  organized  at  a  specified  time, 
that  is  to  continue  through  all  time,  and  eventually  sub- 
vert all  other  kingdoms* 

"  And  it  shall  come  to  pass  in  the  last  days,  that  the 


58  PHILOSOPHY    OF    REFORM. 

mountain  of  the  Lord's  house  shall  be  established  in 
the  top  of  the  mountains,  and  shall  be  exalted  above  the 
hills;  and  all  nations  shall  flow  unto  it." — Isa.  ii.,  2. 

"  And  in  the  days  of  these  kings  shall  the  God  of 
heaven  set  up  a  kingdom,  which  shall  never  be  de- 
stroyed ;  and  the  kingdom .  shall  not  be  left  to  other 
people,  but  it  shall  break  in  pieces  and  consume  all 
these  kingdoms,  and  it  shall  stand  forever." — Dan. 
ii.,  44. 

During  the  time  specified — that  is,  during  the  reign 
of  the  Roman  Emperor,  and  before  the  sceptre  had 
departed  from  Judah — this  kingdom  was  set  up.  It 
is  here  expressly  stated  that  this  kingdom  shall  never 
be  destroyed.  It  shall  stand  while  time  lasts.  Nei- 
ther shall  it  be  left  to  other  people.  It  is  a  perfect 
work  of  itself.  It  was  organized  for  the  express  pur- 
pose of  reforming  the  world.  By  no  other  means, 
then,  can  this  work  be  accomplished.  This  kingdom 
shall  break  in  pieces  and  destroy  all  idolatry  and  sin 
in  the  world.  Love — the  pure  breath  of  heaven,  the 
living  principle  of  this  religion — shall  yet  blast  and 
destroy  all  wrong  in  the  earth.  Blessed  enterprise ! 
originated  and  conducted  by  the  God  of  Heaven. 

"  As  for  me,  this  is  my  covenant  with  them,  saith 
the  Lord  ;  My  Spirit  that  is  upon  thee,  and  my  words 
which  I  have  put  into  thy  mouth,  shall  not  depart 
out  of  thy  mouth,  nor  out  of  the  mouth  of  thy  seed, 
nor  out  of  the  mouth  of  thy  seed's  seed,  saith  the 
Lord,  from  henceforth  and  forever." — Isa.  lix.,  21. 

"  His  dominion  is  an  everlasting  dominion,  which 
shall  not  pass  away,  and  his  kingdom  that  which 
shall  not  be  destroyed." — Dan.  vii.,  14. 

"  Lo,  I  am  with  you  always,  even  unto  the  end  of 
the  world."— Matt,  xxviii.,  20. 


THE    WORLD    REFORMED.  59 

V.  Holiness  shall  be  universal. 

"And  it  shall  come  to  pass,  that  he  th.it  is  1.  ft  in 
Zion,  and  he  that  remninrth  in  Jerusalem,  shall  be 
called  li>ly;  even  every  one  that  is  written  Mftottg 
the  living"  in  Jerusalem." — Isa.  iv.,  3. 

"  And  wisdom  and  knowledge  shall  be  the  stabi- 
lity of  thy  tunes,  and  strength  of  salvation  :  the  fear 
of  the  Lord  is  his  treasure." — Isa.  xxxiii.,  6. 

"  Mercy  and  truth  are  met  together  ;  righteousness 
and  peace  have  kissed  each  other.  Truth  shall 
spring  out  of  the  earth  ;  and  righteousness  shall  look 
down  from  heaven. " — Ps.  lxxxv.,  10,  11. 

"  As  the  earth  bringeth  forth  her  bud,  and  as  the 

garden  causeth  the  things  that  are  sown  in  it  to  spring 

forth  ;  so  the  Lord  God  will  cause  righteousness  and 

praise  to  spring  forth  before  all  the  nations." — Isa. 

11. 

"  In  that  day  shall  there  be  upon  the  bells  of  the 
horses,  Holiness  unto  the  Lord ;  and  the  pots  in  the 
Lord's  house  shall  belike  the  bowls  before  the  altar." 
—Zech.  xiv.,  20. 

VI.  The  Church,  or  kingdom  of  Christ,  shall  Jill  the 
whole  world. 

"Ask  of  me,  and  I  shall  give  thee  the  heathen  for 
thine  inheritance,  and  the  uttermost  parts  of  the  earth 
for  thy  possession.  Thou  shalt  break  them  with  a 
rod  of  iron  ;  thou  shalt  dash  them  in  pieces  like  a 
potter's  vessel." — Ps.  ii.,  8,  9. 

"  All  the  ends  of  the  earth  shall  remember  and 
turn  unto  the  Lord ;  and  all  the  kindreds  of  the  na- 
tions shall  worship  before  him."— Ps.  xxii.,  27. 

11  God  shall  bless  us,  and  all  the  ends  of  the  earth 
shall  fear  him." — Ps.  lxvii.,  7. 


60  PHILOSOPHY    OF    REFORM. 

"  He  shall  have  dominion  also  from  sea  to  sea,  and 
from  the  river  unto  the  ends  of  the  earth.  Yea,  all  kings 
shall  fall  down  before  him  :  all  nations  shall  serve  him. 
His  name  shall  endure  forever;  his  name  shall  be  con- 
tinued as  long  as  the  sun;  and  men  shall  be  blessed  in 
him;  all  nations  shall  call  him  blessed." — Ps.  lxxii., 
8,11,17. 

"  All  nations  whom  thou  hast  made  shall  come  and 
worship  before  thee,  O  Lord,  and  shall  glorify  thy 
name." — Ps.  lxxxvi.,  9. 

"  He  shall  not  fail  nor  be  discouraged,  till  he  have 
set  judgment  in  the  earth :  and  the  isles  shall  wait  for 
his  law." — Isa.  xlii.,  4. 

?*  When  thou  shalt  make  his  soul  an  offering  for 
sin,  he  shall  see  his  seed,  he  shall  prolong  his  days, 
and  the  pleasure  of  the  Lord  shall  prosper  in  his  hand. 
He  shall  see  of  the  travail  of  his  soul  and  be  satisfied  : 
by  his  knowledge  shall  my  righteous  servant  justify 
many  ;  for  he  shall  bear  their  iniquities.  Therefore 
will  I  divide  him  a  portion  with  the  great,  and  he  shall 
divide  the  spoil  with  the  strong." — Isa.  liii.,  10-12. 

"  Enlarge  the  place  of  .thy  tent,  and  let  them  stretch 
forth  the  curtains  of  thine  habitations ;  spare  not ; 
lengthen  thy  cords,  and  strengthen  thy  stakes  ;  for 
thou  shalt  break  forth  on  the  right  hand  and  on  the 
left,  and  thy  seed  shall  inherit  the  Gentiles  and  make 
the  desolate  cities  to  be  inhabited." — Isa.  liv.,  2,  3. 

"  Gentiles  shall  come  to  thy  light,  and  kings  to  the 
brightness  of  thy  rising." — Isa.  lx.,  3. 

"  Who  hath  heard  such  a  thing?  Who  hath  seen 
such  things  ?  Shall  the  earth  be  made  to  bring  forth 
in  one  day  1  Or  shall  a  nation  be  born  at  once  1  For 
as  soon  as  Zion  travailed,  she  brought  forth  her  chil- 
dren.    Shall  I  bring  to  the  birth,  and  not  cause  to 


Tin:    WORLD    REFORMED.  61 

bring  forth  1  saith  the  Lord :  shall  I  cause  to  bring 
forth  and  shut  the  womb,  saith  thy  God." — ha.  lxvi. 
8,9. 

"  And  the  stone  that  smote  the  image  became  a 
great  mountain,  and  filled  the  whole  earth." — Dan. 
it,  35. 

"  The  Lord  shall  be  king  over  all  the  earth ;  in 
that  day  shall  there  be  one  Lord,  and  his  name  one." 
— Zech.  xiv.,  9. 

"  And  I,  if  I  be  lifted  up  from  the  earth,  will  draw 
all  men  unto  me." — JoAn,  xii.,  32. 

"  And  the  seventh  angel  sounded ;  and  there  were 
great  voices  in  heaven,  saying,  The  kingdoms  of  the 
world  are  become  the  kingdoms  of  our  Lord  and  of 
his  Christ,  and  he  shall  reign  forever." — Rev.  xi.,  15. 

We  have,  then,  the  doctrine  of  the  world's  thorough 
reformation  clearly  and  fully  taught  in  the  Holy 
Oracles.  The  passages  quoted  need  no  comment. 
The  wisdom  of  man  can  give  them  neither  clearness 
nor  force.  By  subtle  ingenuity  their  plain,  common- 
sense  meaning  may  be  changed — and,  indeed,  the  same 
may  be  true  of  every  doctrine  of  the  Bible — but  he 
who  has  no  system  to  defend,  with  an  honest  and  sin- 
cere mind,  will  not  fail  of  being  fully  convinced  of 
the  truth  of  this  doctrine,  as  taught  in  the  Scriptures. 

We  may  also  derive  an  argument  for  the  world's 
reformation  from  the  gift  of  Christ.  He  lived,  suf- 
fered and  died,  and  arose,  and  went  up  to  heaven, 
leading  captivity  captive.  He  was  there  received 
with  ceremony  appropriate  to  the  occasion.  The 
everlasting  doors  were  thrown  open  at  his  approach. 
He  entered  as  "  the  king  of  glory,"  "  the  Lord  strong 


62  PHILOSOPHY    OF    REFORM. 

and  mighty,  the  Lord  mighty  in  battle,"  amid  the 
songs  of  praise  of  heaven's  choirs.  He  was  ad- 
dressed by  the  Father:  "  Sit  thou  at  my  right  hand, 
until  I  make  thine  enemies  thy  footstool.  The  Lord 
shall  send  the  rod  of  thy  strength  out  of  Zion :  rule 
thou  in  the  midst  of  thine  enemies.  Thy  people 
shall  be  willing  in  the  day  of  thy  power,  in  the  beauties 
of  holiness  from  the  womb  of  the  morning  :  thou  hast 
the  dew  of  thy  youth.  The  Lord  hath  sworn,  and  will 
not  repent,  thou  art  a  priest  for  ever  after  the  order  of 
Melchizedek."  "  Thy  throne,  O  God,  is  for  ever 
and  ever :  the  sceptre  of  thy  kingdom  is  a  right  scep- 
tre. Thou  lovest  righteousness,  and  hatest  wicked- 
ness; therefore,  God,  thy  God,  hath  anointed  thee 
with  the  oil  of  gladness  above  thy  fellows."  Then 
Christ  is  crowned  king  of  the  world.  The  royal  dia- 
dem is  placed  on  his  brow.  Now  saith  the  Almighty, 
u  Why  do  the  heathen  rage,  and  the  people  imagine 
a  vain  thing?  The  kings  of  the  earth  set  themselves, 
and  the  rulers  take  counsel  together  against  the  Lord 
and  against  his  anointed,  saying,  Let  us  break  the 
bands  asunder,  and  cast  away  their  cords  from  us. 
He  that  sitteth  in  the  heavens  shall  laugh :  the  Lord 
shall  have  them  in  derision.  Then  shall  he  speak  to 
them  in  his  wrath,  and  vex  them  in  his  sore  dis- 
pleasure. Yet  have  I  set  set  my  king  upon  my  holy 
hill  in  Zion."  Christ  shall  then  declare,  "the  Lord 
hath  said  unto  me,  Thou  art  my  son :  this  day 
have  I  begotten  thee."  The  scene  will  then  be 
closed  by  the  Father,  saying  :  "  Ask  of  me,  and  I  shall 
give  thee  the  heathen  for  thine  inheritance,  and  the 
uttermost  parts  of  the  earth  for  thy  possession." 

This  world,  therefore,  has  been  purchased  by  Christ. 


Mil;    WORLD    REFORMED.  53 

He  baa  been  recognized  in  heaven  as  its  ruler;  and 
he  will  be  its  final  judge.  We  are  also  taught,  in  (he 
Scriptures,  that  his  great  object,  in  the  sacrifice  he  has 
made,  was  to  redeem  the  world  from  sin  ;  that  he  did 
not  relinquish  it  at  his  death;  but  ascended  up  on 
high,  and  is  set  down  on  the  right  hand  of  God,  as  a 
Mediator  between  God  and  man,  to  prosecute  the  same 
work.  He  had  a  warrant  to  undertake  the  enterprise; 
the  third  person  in  the  Trinity  is  engaged  in  the  same 
work,  therefore,  it  has  received  the  sanction  of  infinite 
wisdom,  goodness  and  power.  Here,  then,  is  Christ's 
design  and  plan  for  redeeming  the  world.  For  more 
than  eighteen  hundred  years  he  has  been  pushing  on  his 
Honed  work.  His  success,  taking  all  things  into  con- 
sideration, has  been  astonishingly  rapid,  yet  but  a 
small  portion  of  the  world  is  redeemed.  In  view  of  all 
these  facts,  is  it  more  probable  that  the  scenes  of  this 
world  will  be  wound  up  with  the  work  scarcely  com- 
menced, than  that  it  will  still  be  prosecuted  unto  per- 
fect completion  ?  To  take  this  ground,  is  to  avow  our 
infidelity,  and  charge  a  failure  upon  Christ,  when  there 
is  no  such  thing. 

It  may  here  be  urged,  since  a  single  soul  is  of  an  in- 
finite value,  and  since  many  have  already  been  saved, 
the  enterprise  of  Christ  is  not  a  failure.  It  should  be 
remembered  that  the  world  was  given  to  Christ,  pur- 
chased with  his  blood,  and  that  it  can  be  redeemed, 
and  therefore,  if  Christ  does  not  succeed,  there  will  be 
a  failure.  Shall  he,  after  having  sacrificed  his  life, 
abandon  the  salvation  of  our  race  as  hopeless,  when  it 
is  not  hopeless  ?  Will  "lie  turn  aside  for  apparent  or 
real  difficulties?  Has  he  not  pledged  his  people  full 
and  complete  victory  1    Why  abandon  an  object  of  such 


' 


64  PHILOSOPHY    OF    REFORM. 

vast  interest — a  work  undertaken  at  such  vast  expense 
— when  there  is  not  even  a  plausible  reason  for  it? 
We  will  heed  no  such  teaching,  it  is  the  complaining 
of  unbelief. 

It  may  also  be  contended,  that  this  work  of  reform- 
ing the  world  has  been  prosecuted  diligently  for  many 
centuries,  and  the  prospects  are  darker,  and  still  darker; 
therefore,  we  must  conclude  we  have  wrong  notions  on 
this  subject.  This  objection  takes  for  granted  that  man 
has  made  no  progress,  and  that  the  race  is  on  the  re- 
trograde. We  will  trace  the  progress  of  truth  in  ano- 
ther portion  of  this  work,  when  we  think  it  will  be 
apparent,  that  it  is  mere  folly  to  contend  there  has  been 
no  advance  in  past  ages  ;  and  when  we  come  to  roll 
up  the  curtain,  and  exhibit  our  present  prospects,  we 
trust  it  may  be  acknowledged  they  are  far  brighter 
than  those  of  any  other  time.  Every  age  has  devel- 
oped and  fixed  forever  some  one  principle,  at  least,  in 
the  world.  Besides,  this  work  is  of  such  a  nature, 
that  it  cannot  be  pushed  to  completion  in  a  day.  It  is 
more  important,  more  expensive— that  on  which  is 
suspended  greater  interests — than  any  work  Heaven 
has  ever  employed  its  wisdom  and  strength  upon. 
It  is,  in  every  respect,  worthy  of  Heaven.  Its  plans 
are  laid  broad  and  deep.  It  may  take  an  age  to  bring 
out  a  single  truth,  and  fix  it  permanently  in  the  earth. 
It  may,  then,  be  interesting,  in  comparing  generation 
with  generation,  age  with  age,  and  period  with  period, 
to  watch  single  truths,  as  they  spring  up,  contend  with 
the  elements,  and,  at  last,  become  "  fixed  facts  "  in 
the  world  ;  and  to  mark  the  slow  and  sure  progress 
truth  has  been  making  since  the  commencement.  The 
progress  of  truth  must  be  slow,  in  order  to  exhibit  the 


THE    WORLD    REFORMED.  QQ 

movements  of  Providence,  by  which  it  is  accomplished 
to  us,  that  we  may  be  led  to  glorify  and  honor  Him. 
A  few  truths,  as  way-marks,  have  been  established,  and 
but  few  indeed,  yet  progress  has  been  made.  The 
work  is  moving  on  with  majesty  and  great  power.  Its 
slowness  and  steadiness  stamp  it  with  Divinity.  It  will 
be  completed  in  the  fullness  of  time,  for  the  mouth  of 
i  he  Lord  has  spoken  it. 


CHAPTER  IV 


THE     PRINCIPLE     OF    REFORMATION. 

Principle  defined — Analogy  between  the  natural  and  moral  world — Im- 
portance of  understanding  the  principle  of  reformation — This  principle 
not  found  in  one-ideaism,  religious  sects,  or  modern  reforms — Truth 
defined — Benevolence  defined — The  principle  of  reformation  stated — 
Success  in  reformation. 

We  speak  of  the  principle  on  which  the  steam  engine 
performs  its  astonishing  work ;  or  those  of  a  particu- 
lar science  or  theory  ;  or  of  a  moral  enterprise  ;  but 
what  do  we  mean  by  the  principle  of  a  thing  ? 

We  mean  its  reality,  its  soul,  or  its  power.  Annihi- 
late the  facts  in  respect  to  steam,  and  the  engine,  how- 
ever highly  wrought  and  perfect,  the  fire,  the  water, 
all  are  nothing  in  propelling  the  boat.  Or  should  the 
machinery  be  built  not  in  strict  reference  to  these  facts, 
the  result  is  the  same. 

We  mean  by  principle,  the  universal  and  everlast- 
ingly existing  power,  that  begets  the  same  results  in 
every  similar  work  ;  that  is,  the  fixed  and  immutable 
law,  or  the  positive  reality  of  a  thing,  is  its  principle — 
as,  powder  will  explode  with  a  great  noise  when  fire 
is  applied  to  it — therefore,  it  is  the  controlling,  direct- 
ing, and  moving  power  of  whatever  is  accomplished. 

The  principle  of  a  thing  is  its  whole  vitality.  True, 
there  may  be  appendages  to  it,  but  they  are  designed 
as  checks  and  balances  to  regulate  the  machinery  and 
overcome  the  surrounding  counteracting  influences,  so 
as  to  give  full  play  to  the  power  itself  in  producing  its 


THE    PBINCtPLE    OF    REFORMATION.  57 

legitimate  result.  Therefore,  in  nil  right  machinery, 
this  fact  is  kept  in  full  view,  and  conformed  to  strictly, 
so  that  the  result  is  natural  and  sure.  Thus  the  provi- 
dent ial  g&fi -tniiM "iit  of  God  is  managed,  to  secure  the 
wise  and  righteous  intentions  of  Heaven.  Every 
movement  is  strictly  conformed  to,  and  directed  by,  a 
hidden  unseen  fact,  which  is  the  substance  of  the  char- 
i<  in  of  God.  Thus,  too,  the  wise  mechanic,  or  in- 
ventor, with  a  thousand  patterns  around  him,  builds 
his  machinery.  The  moralist,  also,  or  the  wise  re- 
former, gpgtiflg  hold  of  a  fixed  truth,  endeavors  to 
develop  it,  or  bring  out  its  legitimate  effects  in  the 
world.  His  means  and  measures,  from  the  nature  of 
the  case,  are  all  simple,  not  complicated.  His  main 
object  is  to  remove  surrounding  obstacles,  and  coun- 
teract existing  operative  difficulties,  and  harness  down 
this  power  to  his  work.  He  strives,  not  only  to  work 
out  a  single  truth,  but  to  get  down  to  the  great  inner 
truth,  to  the  sum  of  all  truth,  and  develop  it. 

Probably  there  are  but  a  few  real  principles,  or  dis- 
tinct truths,  which  have  all  the  material  of  self-exist- 
ence alone.  It  may  yet  be  demonstrated,  that,  in  the 
material  world,  everything  turns  upon  a  single  point, 
or,  that  all  truths  are  subordinate  to,  and  centered  in, 
a  single  one.  Should  this  ever  be  accomplished,  we 
may  say  in  advance,  it  accords  most  perfectly  with  the 
nature  of  our  Maker's  works,  and  would  be  another 
striking  illustration  of  his  infinite  wisdom.  It  is  none 
the  less  God  who  governs  and  rules,  and  none  the  less 
honor  is  his  due,  because  he  has  chosen  to  manage 
the  world  after  this  plan,  than  if  he  should  have  no 
fixed  plan,  but  bring  about  each  separate  event  by  his 
own  direct  agency,  without  any  reference  to  the  law 
of  cause  and  effect.     If  this  great  central  power,  or 


68  PHILOSOPHY   OF    REFORM. 

truth,  which  produces  all  we  see  around  us  in  the 
material  world,  really  exists,  it  was  God  who  created 
it ;  it  could  be  created  by  no  other  being,  nor  come  by 
chance.  He  has  given  a  nature  to  fire  that  is  fixed 
and  unchangeable,  so  that  it  burns  all  combustible 
materials  ;  yet  we  do  not  say,  He,  by  his  own  direct 
agency,  independent  of  its  nature,  and  everything 
else,  produces  every  specific  effect  we  see  caused  by  it. 
Nevertheless,  is  it  not  God  that  produces  these  effects'? 
If  not  in  this  case,  then  in  none  ;  and,  therefore,  there 
is  no  blessing  we  enjoy  for  which  we  are  indebted  to 
him,  and  for  which  we  are  to  be  grateful. 

Analogous  to  these  facts  in  the  material,  is  the  state 
of  things,  so  far  as  we  know,  in  the  moral,  world — 
with  this  difference  :  in  the  latter,  every  voluntary  act 
is  possessed  of  a  moral  character,  for  which  the  indi- 
vidual is  responsible  to  his  Maker. 

In  the  moral  world  there  is  a  truth  to  which,  so  to 
speak,  all  truth  is  geared  :  it  is  the  centre  truth,  or  the 
heart  of  the  moral  system.  How  long  it  may  be  before 
this  truth,  and  every  subordinate  one,  or  this  main 
principle,  made  applicable  to  all  things,  is  known,  we 
cannot  tell ;  but  we  conclude  this  knowledge  must  be 
obtained,  from  the  fact  that  the  world  will  be  tho- 
roughly reformed,  and  also  because  mind  from  its  na- 
ture keeps  diving  after  inner,  primal  cause  of  the  facts 
that  surround  it,  and  is  never  satisfied  until  the  why 
and  the  wherefore  are  understood.  True,  the  mindless 
or  thoughtless  man — he  who  never  investigates  for  him- 
self— cares  for  nothing  more  than  what  the  brute  seeks, 
the  gratification  of  his  passions.  We  admit  this,  but 
contend  that  no  man  is  naturally  thus ;  and  that  we 
shall  be  natural,  in  this  world,  in  time — and  then,  in 
proportion  to  the  mind's  clearness  and  strength,  we 


THE    PRINCIPLE    OF    REFORMATION.  69 

shall  thoroughly  sift  all  things.  The  mind  is  develop- 
ing itself,  and  the  time  may  come  when  many  now  dark 
and  mysterious  subjects  shall  "be  made  light ;  and  when 
the  great  truth,  or  law  created  in  the  beginning,  and 
by  which  the  world  and  worlds  are  governed,  or  the 
principles  which  rest  at  the  bottom  of  all  true  refor- 
mation, shall  be  understood  and  adhered  to. 

The  importance  of  understanding  this  principle  must 
be  evident  to  every  one.  Every  true  reformer  should 
study  and  know  it.  He  must  go  back  to  this  truth, 
and  from  experience  and  intuition  learn  what  it  is 
and  its  legitimate  effects.  Therefore,  in  testing  any 
moral  enterprise,  he  rejects  it  at  once,  unless  it  has 
sprung  from  the  truth,  and  in  its  spirit  and  measures 
gives  full  and  free  liberty  to  it.  This  being  so,  he 
will  necessarily  be  cautious,  firm  and  confident. 

Those  who  are  ignorant  of  this  principle  may,  from 
their  impulsive  benevolence,  engage  in  any  and  every- 
thing that  has  for  its  object  the  good  of  the  race,  with- 
out being  assured  of  the  success  of  their  enterprise,  or, 
even  should  it  be  successful,  without  knowing  whether, 
on  the  whole,  it  would  be  a  real  benefit  to  the  world. 
It  is  enough  for  them,  if  they  only  know  that  it  pro- 
fessedly and  apparently  will  result  in  the  good  of  man- 
kind. They  are,  therefore,  liable  to  be  driven  and 
tossed  about  by  every  changing  wind,  being  unstable 
as  the  sea.  This  may  account  for  the  increased  num- 
ber of  hobby-riders.  As  soon  as  a  single  thought  has 
been  wrought  out,  and  taken  form  and  shape  to  itself, 
it  is  seized,  and  made  the  leading  one  of  the  time. 
This  is  rode  to-day,  and  abandoned  to-morrow  for 
another.  The  result  is,  inconstancy,  restlessness  and 
fanaticism. 

It  is  all-important  that  we  remove  the  rubbish  before 


70  PHILOSOPHY    OF    REFORM. 

we  lay  our  foundation,  and  then  build  on  the  rock. 
Thus,  in  prosecuting  any  moral  enterprise,  our  efforts 
must  be  based  on  the  truth,  otherwise  all  our  labor 
will  be  abortive. 

We  have  need  also  to  possess  the  ability  to  trace  the 
line  of  truth  through  all  events  ;  to  see  their  cause ; 
to  detect  the  connection  and  relation  of  the  present 
with  the  past,  and  their  probable  bearing  on  each 
other,  and  on  future  events  ;  and  also  to  be  encour- 
aged when  prospects  are  forbidding,  and  u  dark  brood 
the  heavens  o'er  us."  A  correct  knowledge  of  the 
principle  of  reformation  will  afford  us  all  we  need  in 
this  respect. 

The  same  knowledge  will  also  suggest  right  plans 
and  measures,  when  they  are  left  to  our  own  judgment 
and  discretion  for  intelligent  and  efficient  action.  An 
ignorant  multitude  may  devise  various  ways  for  re- 
moving a  mountain  of  rock,  but  not  be  able  to  succeed  ; 
for  all  the  means  they  can  invent  are  inadequate,  if 
not  wretchedly  inappropriate.  It  would  be  madness 
to  put  fire  and  powder  into  the  hands  of  those  ignorant 
of  their  nature.  Instruct  these  men  in  the  truth  and 
fact  of  things,  and  they  will  find  out  ways  to  accom- 
plish their  work,  and  without  danger  to  themselves. 
How  many  good  men  are  driving  on  their  visionary, 
fancy  schemes ;  spending  their  time  and  energies  for 
what  is  worse  than  useless,  simply  because  they  never 
look  into  the  inner  fact  of  things.  Men  hate  to  think, 
and,  indeed,  but  few  ever  do;  others  do  this  laborious 
business  for  them.  The  world's  thinkers  serve  this 
idle  throng,  as  a  patent  mind,  or  a  thinking  saving 
machine.  Teach  men  to  think  and  investigate  clearly 
and  closely,  if  you  would  obviate  these  evils. 

This  knowledge  is  as  important  as  is  our  aid  in  the 


THE    PRINCIPLE    OF    REFORMATION.  71 

world's  reformation;  therefore,  as  important  as  is  our 
success  in  this  work,  and  hence,  as  much  so,  as  that  the 
world  should  be  reformed.  If  a  knowledge  of  this 
principle  cannot  become  a  part  of  our  very  being,  we 
may  as  well  give  up  the  work,  and  enjoy  the  rest  and 
quiet  of  despair.  It  is  the  fountain  of  all  truth,  and 
there  is  no  living  water  but  that  drawn  from  this  source. 
As  well  might  we  undertake  to  heal  the  sick  without 
a  knowledge  of  medicine,  or  the  nature  of  the  physi- 
cal system  ;  as  well  might  the  blind  man  study  the  art 
of  painting  ;  or  the  general,  who  is  ignorant  of  mili- 
tary tactics,  attempt  to  drive  an  invading  well-disci- 
plined foe  from  his  country,  as  for  any  one  to  be  of 
the  least  service  in  securing  to  the  world  its  rich  in- 
heritance, without  a  knowledge  of  this  principle.  In 
fact,  when  once  it  is  understood,  and  so  deeply  im- 
pressed on  our  minds  as  to  produce  corresponding  ac- 
tion, the  work  is  more  than  half  accomplished.  We 
have  only  need  to  know,  that  by  carrying  out  this 
principle  in  all  things,  we  are  aided  by  nature  and  the 
God  of  nature,  to  make  it  abundantly  manifest  to  us 
that  success  will  be  sure.  But,  by  violating  it,  we 
array  against  us  all  nature,  and  thereby  preclude  the 
possibility  of  triumph  or  victory  in  any  undertaking. 

In  no  other  way  shall  we  be  able  to  detect  error  and 
separate  it  from  the  truth,  than  by  a  knowledge  of  this 
principle.  It  is  the  touch-stone  by  which  we  detach 
the  pure  metal  from  the  dross.  Ignorance  on  this 
point,  therefore,  will  prepare  us  to  become  the  dupes 
of  designing  men,  or  to  be  left,  in  the  honesty  of  our 
hearts,  to  chase  phantoms  and  ignis  fatuus  lights,  all 
our  days.  How  can  we  measure  without  a  1  u!e,  and 
how  can  we  determine  the  weight,  of  any  substance 
without  a  balance,  or  how  can  we  detect  the  truth 
4 


72  PHILOSOPHY    OF    REFORM. 

from  error,  without  a  detector,  and  where  shall  we 
find  one,  but  in  recurring  to  first  principles'? 

May  this  principle  be  understood  1  Most  certainly ; 
for  it  is  a  fact,  and  facts  are  always  tangible.  It  can 
be  seen  and  known,  for  it  is  not  a  creature  of  fancy, 
but  a  reality.  True,  it  is  a  moral  fact,  yet  as  really 
a  fact,  as  the  outward  events  of  life,  or  the  public  acts 
of  men.  What  if  it  cannot  be  seen  with  the  outward 
eye  of  sense,  or  handled  with  the  human  hand,  it  is 
none  the  less  a  real  existence.  If  this  is  not  true,  how 
can  we  account  for  its  wonderful  and  great  agency  1 
Nothing  cannot  produce  something,  and  truly,  some- 
thing has  been  brought  forth.  The  surface  of  the 
moral  world  is  greatly  agitated,  and,  indeed,  terribly 
shaken,  and  from  the  nature  of  the  movement  we  are 
able  to  learn  the  nature  of  its  cause.  It  can  be  nothing 
more  nor  less  than  truth  increasing  and  struggling  to 
be  free. 

This  principle  may  be  known,  for  it  forms  the  pivot 
on  which  is  balanced  the  moral  world,  and  truly  that 
may  be  known  by  seeking.  It  can  be  heard,  for  the 
music  of  the  birds,  and  flowers,  and  free  winds,  are 
its  echoes ;  it  may  be  felt,  if  the  songs  of  angels  can 
produce  any  sensation,  for  they  are  the  spirit  of  it. 
Has  God  been  dealing  with  the  world  almost  six  thou- 
sand years,  carrying  out  his  glorious  plan  for  its  re- 
formation, and  not  wrought  out  facts  of  sufficient 
variety  and  number,  to  aid  us  in  discovering,  with 
unerring  certainty,  the  great  principle  that  lies  at  the 
foundation  of  this  enterprise  ?  We  have  only  need 
to  collect  these  facts,  arrange  and  study  them,  and 
then  we  can  easily  trace  them  back  to  their  fountain. 

May  we  know  when  we  have  obtained  possession 
of  this  principled     Most  assuredly,  for  it  is  that  which 


^        or  TH* 
THE    PRINCIPLE    OF    REFORM  AUJT I  V  ftjR  S  J 

will  harmonize  the  world  and  nnlrr  ixJNftflljj^ii  fl*. 
again.  The  little  child,  with  the  map  of 
lying  before  him,  cut  up  into  different  portions,  needs 
no  other  proof  of  his  having  arranged  them  all  right, 
than  their  tilting  into  each  other,  and  thereby  forming 
a  perfect  picture  of  the  earth.  There  is  harmony  in 
the  physical  world,  for  there  is  nothing  here  out  of 
joint.  Everything  keeps  its  place,  and  moves  regu- 
larly according  to  fixed  laws,  and  performs  its  office 
perfectly.  The  same  will  be  true  of  the  moral  world, 
when  we  get  possession  of  the  principle  which,  in  its 
legitimate  action,  will  produce  it ;  and  then,  at  least, 
we  may  know  that  this  is  the  principle  of  truth. 

Luther  succeeded  in  reaching  a  root  of  truth,  and 
he  struck  it  terribly,  to  the  dismay  of  those  who  lived 
in  error.  In  fact,  he  shook  the  world  ;  for  he  shook  the 
branch  on  which  all  men  were  then  roosting.  He  pro- 
duced vast  excitement  and  commotion  everywhere,  for, 
seemingly,  in  his  day,  all  the  errors  of  the  world  were 
centered  in  a  single  one.  No  doubt  the  system  which 
had  then  become  corrupt,  whose  heart  he  had  reached, 
was  built,  at  first,  on  a  single  truth — on  a  point  of  the 
great  rock  of  the  internal  truth  which  chanced  to  pro- 
trude from  the  surface.  But  what  of  that :  it  had 
now  grown  into  an  entire  falsity.  What  if  the  people 
did  acknowledge  much  truth,  while  as  a  whole  they 
were  all  wrong?  The  reformer's  business  was  to 
exhibit  the  truth,  carrying  it  as  a  torch-light  into  the 
dark  and  death-like  caverns.  This  was  all,  and  this 
was  enough  to  produce  the  effect  that  followed.  Had 
not  these  truths  been  previously  wrought  out  and  esta- 
blished, their  announcement  would  not  have  produced 
much  sensation.  For  a  long  time  preparation  had 
been  making  for  this  very  event,  and  when  it  came, 


74  PHILOSOPHY    OF    REFORM. 

Luther  was  raised  up  to  preach  that  truth  which  had 
been  forgotten,  and  the  result  was  the  overthrow  of 
the  great,  lumberly,  rotten  system  that  had  filled  the 
world.  He  had  evidence  here  that  he  had  the  truth. 
After  all,  he  did  not  shake  sin  out  of  the  world.  And 
why  not  1  He  evidently  did  not  get  hold  of  the  prin- 
ciple of  all  truth,  and  cling  to  it,  until  it  was  fully 
developed,  and  productive  of  its  legitimate  fruit.  Evi- 
dently the  time  had  not  come  for  this.  He  did  cling 
to  the  truth  as  he  found  it ;  but  it  was  only  a  branch, 
not  the  heart.  He  was  not,  therefore,  able  to  purify 
the  fountain.  Another  Luther,  when  the  time  has 
come,  may  do  that.  At  least,  it  will  be  done  by  human 
instrumentality. 

We  may  say  here,  lest  we  be  misunderstood,  that 
Luther  was  a  great  and  good  man,  with  a  great,  good 
and  strong  heart;  but  after  all,  the  times  made  him, 
rather  than  he  the  times.  No  one  man  can  make  the 
times  in  which  he  lives.  He  may  control,  fashion  and 
direct  them  better  than  any  other  man,  still  they  make 
him.  Not  that  all  men  can  be  thus  great;  yet  no  one 
would  ever  be,  did  not  the  times  call  out  the  greatness 
within  him.  Luther  had  great  advantage  of  the 
enemy.  The  world  had  been  brought  into  a  position 
where  his  raking  fire,  his  heavy  chain-shots,  could  do 
great  execution.  At  no  other  time  in  the  world's  his- 
tory has  it  been  brought  into  so  favorable  a  position  to 
be  overpowered  and  conquered  by  the  truth.  Great 
truths,  as  we  have  said,  had  been  developed  and 
established  in  the  minds  of  men  ;  these  he  grasped 
with  an  iron  hand,  and  wrought  out  the  Reforma- 
tion. 

In  this  minor  reformation,  in  many  particulars,  we 
have  an  illustration  of  every  true  reform,  and  of  the 


THE    PRINCIPLE    OF    REFORMATION.  75 

great  one  by  which  the  world  is  elevated  to  its  true 
resting  place. 

We  can  see  truth  everywhere.  Even  in  Mahom- 
etanism  we  find  more  truth  than  in  blank  heathenism. 
The  Patriarchs  of  Persia,  the  disciples  of  Zoroaster, 
taught  Mahomet  much  truth.  He  was  ambitious  and 
wicked,  and  so  built  a  system  of  religion  on  these 
imported  truths  and  styled  it  his  own.  He  said  he 
was  its  originator — its  prophet.  We  are  able  now 
to  go  through  this  and  every  similar  system,  and  detach 
the  truth  from  falsehood. 

Had  the  Arab  Prophet,  at  this  time,  possessed  the 
true  principle  of  reformation,  or  had  it  been  true  that 
he  was  purified,  as  he  declared,  when  he  said  an  angel 
caught  him  and  pressed  out  the  bad  blood  from  his 
heart  and  made  him  a  prophet,  he  might,  with  the  aid 
of  Him  who  has  promised  to  be  with  such  forever,  have 
made  his  people  truly  holy  and  happy.  He  planted 
on  the  sand,  the  seed  sprouted,  but  it  came  up  a 
poisonous  plant,  and  its  fruit  has  ever  been  the  grossest 
error.  The  compound  of  truth  and  error  is,  invariably 
and  forever,  error  in  its  action.  This  fact  also  teaches 
us  a  good  lesson. 

Let  us  search  for  this  principle  and  examine  it  more 
closely.  It  may  be  far  easier  to  point  out  what  it  is 
not,  and  where  it  will  not  be  found,  than  to  speak 
affirmatively  ;  yet  it  may  be  important  to  examine  each 
man's  theory,  to  convince  him  of  error,  and  induce  all 
to  search  where  it  may  be  found. 

We  shall  look  in  vain  for  this  principle,  in  one- 
ideaism,  yet  vitally  an  idea,  a  unit,  makes  up  the  whole 
of  it.  We  mean,  by  this  ism,  the  applying  of  this  great 
principle  of  truth  to  a  single  state  of  things,  and  seek- 
ing to  carry  it  out  to  the  neglect  of  everything  else. 


76  PHILOSOPHY    OF    REFORM. 

It  is  indeed  calling  the  branch  the  tree,  or  the  stream 
the  fountain.  We  mean  the  belief  that  the  applica- 
tion of  this  principle  to  any  one  single  error  or  sin  is 
to  free  the  world  from  all  sin — as  though  blowing  up 
a  single  block  would  destroy  the  whole  city,  or  tear- 
ing up  a  single  noxious  weed,  would  free  the  world 
of  all  similar  weeds.  A  one-idea-man  is  not  unlike 
the  mouse  amid  the  roots  of  the  oak.  He  has  grasped 
within  his  teeth  a  small  root,  and  by  exerting  all  his 
strength,  it  being  but  a  mere  thread,  breaks  and  is  torn 
away.  With  what  deep  anxiety  he  watches  that  tree, 
and  with  what  confident  expectation  to  see  it  overturn, 
and  all  because  he  had  wrought  himself  into  the  be- 
lief that  the  root  he  broke  was  the  tree's  foundation. 
That  mouse  is  a  one-idea-mouse.  That  tree  can  be 
uprooted,  the  city  razed  to  the  ground,  and  all  wrong 
destroyed  in  the  earth,  but  not  in  this  way.  The  prin- 
ciple of  which  we  are  treating  is  applicable  to  every 
supposable  state  of  things,  and  when  once  it  is  thus 
carried  out,  will  reform  the  world.  But  that  which 
the  one-idea-man  has  obtained  is  a  specific  truth,  and 
subordinate  to  this  principle.  He  may  carry  out  his 
specific  principle  to  its  full  extent,  and  remove  the 
evil  and  secure  the  good  he  is  after,  but  there  it  stops 
and  refuses  to  work  toward  the  universal  good.  Such 
men  are  not  wise  reformers.  They  might  do  good  in 
a  single  department,  were  it  not  for  the  fact  that  they 
are  laboring  with  a  wrong  system  ;  but  they  are  not 
the  world's  reformers. 

This  principle  is  not  embodied  in  any  form  of 
civil  government,  neither  in  mightism,  kingism  or  peo- 
pleism,  that  ever  has  been  or  may  be  devised.  There- 
fore, with  the  establishment  of  the  most  perfect  human 
governments  we  could  not  necessarily  expect  the  world 


THE    PRINCIPLE    OF    REFORMATION.  77 

would  be  reformed.     There  is,  however,  a  great  deal 
of  truth  in  our  most  enlightened  governments,  and  it 
required  ages  to  establish  them  in  the  earth.     Nations 
arose,  lived  out  their  allotted  existence,  and  then  fell, 
bequeathing  some  little  knowledge  of  political  science 
to   the  world,  even  were  it  no  more  than  could  be 
gleaned   from  mishaps  and  failures.      £ngland  and 
America  have  a  more  perfect  form  of  government  than 
Greece  or  Rome  possessed.     Rome,  in  her  life  of  cen- 
turies, wrought  out  a  truth  or  two  and  made  them  per- 
manent, and  then  passed  away.    Although  the  Romans 
loved  freedom,  and  sought  it  in  their  way,  they  were 
indebted  to  the  rude   barbarians  for  all  their  correct 
principles  of  personal  liberty.     There  was  something 
noble  and  heroic  in  the  wild  and  savage  independence 
of  these  barbarians,  and  when  it  was  properly  tempered, 
it  was  of  vast  benefit  to  the  world.     We  may  easily 
trace  the  feudalism  that  prevailed  everywhere  a  few 
centuries  later  to  this  spirit  of  personal  liberty ;  and 
the  crusades  also,  which  broke  up  feudalism  that  had 
prepared   the    world  for  them  by  causing   it  to  feel 
the  need  of  a  more  extended  union,  may  be  traced 
to  the  same  source.     Great  good  has  been  the  result 
of  these  events  which  would  otherwise  have  been  lost 
to  the  world.     Thus,  we  might  trace  out  the  good  that 
has  been  bequeathed  us   by  each  government,  and 
mark  it  down  in  our  book, of  credit  from  that  of  the 
nomade  to  our  own  which  we  regard  as  that  where 
the  principles  of  the  gospel  are  made  applicable  to  our 
civil  state  and  wants;  and,  though   we  should  find 
much  good  for  which  we  should  be  grateful,  still  it  is 
not  the  good,  and  all  of  it,  we  have  a  right  to  expect 
and  look  for.     Besides,  were  the  world  formed  into 
one  perfect  civil  government  it  would  not  thereby  be 


78  PHILOSOPHY    OF    REFORM. 

regenerated.  There  is  not  truth  enough,  even  in  per- 
fect civil  governments,  to  harmonize  the  world  in  all 
things.  They  might  secure  all  our  civil  natures  de- 
mand ;  but  they  do  not  professedly  have  for  their  ob- 
ject the  world's  reformation.  Suppose  we  should 
enlighten  men  sufficiently  to  induce  them  to  establish 
republicanism  everywhere,  it  would  be  a  great  advance 
made  in  the  truth,  and  a  permanent  preparatory  step 
towards  the  true  elevation  of  the  race,  still  it  would 
not  fully  effect  it.  We  may  expect  to  see  the  present 
existing  organizations  broken  up,  and  republics  formed 
which  shall  afford  every  possible  facility  for  the  opera- 
tion of  the  principles  of  truth.  Statesmen,  therefore, 
may  labor  and  be  encouraged  by  the  world,  yet  they 
should  remember  their  department  is  but  a  single  por- 
tion of  the  great  enterprise.  The  vital  principle  is  not 
in  their  department;  hence,  should  their  most  san- 
guine expectations  be  realized  without  something  that 
is  not  even  professedly  in  their  work,  all  that  they 
secure  would  soon  decay  and  be  scattered  to  the  winds. 
Statesmen,  therefore,  cannot  be  the  leaders,  but  they 
may  be  the  servants  of  the  true  reformation. 

We  shall  as  signally  fail  of  finding  the  principle 
referred  to  in  any  religious  sect  of  the  present  day. 
There  is  truth,  much  truth  in  every  evangelical  de- 
nomination, and  we  doubt  not,  but  that  each  of  them 
hold  to  or  profess  this  principle,  therefore,  were  it  ad- 
hered to,  the  converting  ol*  the  world  to  the  religion 
of  the  sect  would  be  the  ushering  in  of  the  millenium. 
But,  while  wTe  have  no  disposition  to  say  a  word 
against  any  sect ;  while  we  abhor  the  spirit  of  disor- 
ganization, we  cannot  shut  our  eyes  to  facts  that  are 
far  too  evident.  The  question  is  this,  Would  the  world 
be  thoroughly  reformed  by  any  one  of  these  sects  be- 


THE    PRINCIPLE    OF    REFORMATION.  79 

coiumn-  universal?  We  think  not.  As  sad  and 
gloomy  as  is  this  thought  we  believe  it  true.  Take 
any  one  and  examine  its  general  character  ami  in- 
fluence, and  reckon  up  the  truth  it  exhibits,  or  all  that 
is  embodied  in  it  as  it  lives  and  acts  from  day  to  day, 
and  we  have  all  its  worth.  We  fear,  should  this 
course  be  pursued,  it  would  be  found  to  be  one  thing 
to  convert  the  world  to  the  sect  or  to  the  triuli  it  e\  - 
hibits,  and  quite  another  to  convert  it  to  God  or  to  the 
whole  truth.  Not  that  we  regard  these  sects  corrupt 
and  false,  so  much  so  as  to  require  their  destruction 
and  others  orgauized  to  accomplish  their  object,  but  we 
suspect,  while  they  profess  the  (ruth,  they  are  not 
necessarily  governed  by  it;  and,  therefore,  that  th<: 
Lord  will  purify  them  if  possible,  but  if  this  be  not 
practicable  they  will  be  left  until"  they  have  become 
Antichrist  and  then  destroyed.  We  need  a  people, 
like  the  primitive  Church,  who  shall  go  forth  and 
subdue  the  world  and  convert  it  to  the  truth,  and  thus 
prepare  it  for  every  good  work.  But  now,  to  an 
alarming  extent,  we  gather  men  into  our  Churches, 
without  its  being  understood  that  they  are  to  carry  out 
the  principles  of  truth  in  all  tilings,  for  we  are  accus- 
tomed to  get  up  separate  organizations  for  this  pur- 
pose. Thus  the  Church  is  divorced  from  her  appro- 
priate work,  and  is  growing  inactive,  weak  and  inef- 
ficient. When  we  seek  the  salvation  of  men,  how- 
ever we  may  deprecate  the  evil,  it  is  practically  under- 
stood, that  it  is  to  convert  them  to  the  standard  of  the 
sect,  and  the  convert  does  not  expect  to  carry  his  reli- 
gion beyond  this.  Now  the  general  influence  of  the 
sect  is  the  sum  total  of  the  truth  possessed  ;  and  it 
matters  nothing  how  great  things  we  profess,  we  are 
always  the  living  illustrations  of  our  principles,  and 
4* 


80  PHILOSOPHY    OF    REFORM. 

are  looked  upon  and  quoted  as  such.  Our  daily  life, 
therefore,  is  the  gauge  of  our  principles.  We  have 
only  to  refer  to  this  in  any  sect  to  perceive  the  amount 
of  truth  embodied  there. 

The  present  age  is  full  of  reformers  and  reforms. 
Each  one  is  zealous  and  confident,  as  was  Tetzel  in 
peddling  off  the  wares  he  had  received  from  the  Pope 
— his  grants  to  sin,  and  receipts  for  the  payment  of 
past  sin  debts.  They  cry  them  up  as  though  the  sal- 
vation of  the  world  depended  on  their  success.  Is  the 
principle  of  reformation  to  be  found  among  them'? 

First  and  foremost  stands  the  Temperance  enterprise. 
What  is  the  basis  or  principle  of  this  reformation  1  It 
is  obedience  to  the  laws  of  our  physical  system.  It 
endeavors  to  bring  the  body  into  subjection  to  the 
truth.  In  its  action,  it  shows  the  necessary  connection 
between  the  derangement  of  our  organs  by  alcohol, 
and  pain,  misery  and  death,  as  an  inducement  to  aban- 
don the  poison.  It  seeks  nothing  more  than  the  con- 
version of  the  body,  deranged  and  diseased  by  intem- 
perance, to  a  natural,  healthful  state.  The  stream 
can  never  rise  higher  than  its  fountain ;  therefore, 
when  these  reformers  have  secured  all  they  seek,  they 
have  only  reformed  the  body,  not  the  mind.  They 
have  done  a  good  work,  but  they  have  not  elevated 
the  race  to  its  proper  position.  The  heart,  or  princi- 
ple of  all  truth,  is  not,  therefore,  here. 

The  Anti-slavery  reformation,  in  some  respects,  is 
more  important  than  the  Temperance.  It  is  slavery  in 
both  cases  that  is  sought  to  be  removed.  In  the  one 
case  it  is  voluntary,  in  the  other  involuntary,  servi- 
tude. We  are  accustomed  to  regard  the  guilt  of  the 
man  who  enslaves  another,  far  greater  than  that  of 
him  who  enslaves  himself.     This,  with  the  additional 


THE    PRINCIPLE    OF    REFORMATION.  Ql 

fact  that  slavery  is  far  more  debasing  and  ruinous  than 
intemperance,  gives  a  greater  importance  to  t !  i a  f . 1 1 1 1 <  •  r 
than  to  the  latter.  Slavery  makes  a  man  a  thing :  it  an- 
nihilates  lmii  to  make  room  for  a  chattel :  it  hurls  down 
the  immortal  man  from  the  exalted  position  in  which  God 
created  him  to  a  level  with  the  brute  creation.  What, 
then,  does  Anti-slavery  propose  to  do  1  Nothing  more 
nor  less  than  that  man  shall  be  given  back  to  himself: 
that  his  self-ownership  shall  be  acknowledged.  It 
seeks  to  secure  the  man  the  voluntary  and  individual 
use  of  his  body  and  mind,  and  make  him  accountable 
to  God,  and  him  alone,  for  his  use  of  them.  This  is 
a  great  and  good  work,  and  no  doubt  the  sympathies 
of  all  pure  intelligences  are  enlisted  for  its  success. 
Suppose,  then,  the  slave  is  given  back  his  robbed  and 
plundered  self,  he  receives  it  with  all  its  deep-stained 
depravity  and  ignorance.  A  body  and  mind  purified 
and  sanctified  are  not  given  to  him.  The  nature  of 
his  moral  and  physical  constitution  is  not  changed. 
Therefore,  slavery  may  die  without  the  destruction  of 
sin  and  ignorance.  -  You  may  press  it  from  the  nation 
and  world,  and  you  have  not  reformed  it.  This  en- 
terprise, then,  is  but  a  small  stream  that  flows  from 
the  great  fountain  of  truth.  The  same  is  also  true  of 
most  other  modern  reforms.  Each  one  seeks  to  free 
the  world  of  a  single  evil,  and  does  not  have  for  its 
object  the  world's  true  reformation. 

The  state  of  society  may  be  such,  that  the  prosecu- 
tion of  a  single  enterprise  may  produce  far  greater 
sensation  than  it  otherwise  would  ;  still,  this  does  not 
necessarily  prove  it  to  be  of  superior  worth.  For  in- 
stance: the  entire  Church  and  world  may  combine  in  the 
defence  of  drunkenness  or  slavery,  and  spend  all  their 


82  PHILOSOPHY    OF    REFORM. 

strength  to  sustain  it.  Now,  when  on  this  or  that  sin 
is  balanced  every  other,  and  that  idol  is  attacked,  great 
excitement  is  produced  ;  for,  apparently,  with  the  fall 
of  that,  their  whole  system  would  be  destroyed.  A 
reformer,  marking  these  effects  of  his  labors,  easily 
works  himself  into  the  belief  that  with  his  success  all 
evil  would  be  destroyed.  He  thus  proves  himself 
ignorant  of  the  nature  of  man.  He  is  deceived  by 
appearances.  You  may  cut  down  the  thrifty  branch 
of  the  noxious  weed,  but  it  will  sprout  again  while 
a  single  root  remains.  So  it  is  with  an  unregenerated 
world.  You  may  wrench  from  it  the  greater  sin,  the 
centre  of  all  its  hopes,  and  leave  it  thus  apparently 
dead,  but  it  will  revive  again. 

The  Reformation  of  the  sixteenth  century  will  serve 
as  a  very  good  illustration  of  this  thought.  The 
Church  had  become  corrupt,  and  all  her  wickedness 
seemed  centered  in  a  single  error,  viz.,  salvation  by 
works.  This  was  the  nucleus  around  which  she  was 
builded.  In  carrying  out  this  doctrine,  the  sale  of  in- 
dulgences was  invented.  Her  whole  strength  was 
taxed  to  uphold  this  abomination.  Here  was  opened 
an  entrance  to  her  polluted  heart.  Everything  had 
been  managed  and  overruled  by  an  all-wise  Provi- 
dence to  effect  her  destruction.  Luther  came  forth, 
and  he  did  not  shrink  from  the  fearful  and  loathsome 
task  of  lancing  this  mass  of  corruption.  The  effect 
was  universal.  The  Church  was  left  for  dead.  But 
like  a  ship  capsized  and  thrown  on  her  beam  ends,  and 
her  captain  led  away  captive,  she  was  not  destroyed. 
She  is  now  refitting  and  repairing,  and  nearly  ready  to 
be  launched  again.  Look  out  for  the  thunder  from 
the  Vatican  !     She  is  like  a  tree  whose  leaves  exhale 


THE    PRINCIPLE    OF    REFORMATION.  83 

the  poison  of  death,  now  flourishing  and  increasing 
rapidly,  and  all  this  berause  t he  roots  of  the  ini(|uity 
were  not  destroyed. 

However  evident  the  above  remarks  may  be,  it  is 
also  true  that  a  defence  of  the  principle  that  goes  to 
sustain  the  evils  referred  to  proves  the  defender  to  be 
depraved  and  wicked.  To  such  an  one,  therefore, 
the  point  at  issue  may  be  a  test  question  ;  for,  in  order 
to  defend  the  wrong,  he  must  abandon  every  funda- 
mental principle  of  truth,  and  to  do  this  is  to  exhilwt. 
himself  destitute  of  all  virtue.  Besides,  truth  and 
error  cannot  nestle  together  in  the  same  bosom.  The 
one,  from  its  nature,  is  inconsistent  with  the  other ; 
therefore,  if  error  is  adhered  to,  truth  will  be  banished 
of  course.  Especially,  if  an  error  has  become  to  him 
a  truth,  then  every  right  thing  has  become  a  wrong 
thing,  and  is,  of  course,  rejected.  We  suppose  no 
man  of  the  least  true  virtue  would  ever  defend  intem- 
perance or  slavery  as  we  have  defined  them,  yet  it  is 
easy  to  imagine  a  thousand  cases  where  this  is  the 
case,  without  proving  the  individual  to  be  corrupt; 
not,  however,  as  we  have  defined  the  evil,  but  on  the 
same  principle  that,  under  numerous  circumstances, 
we  say  a  tyrannical  form  of  government  is  right ;  or,  on 
the  same  principle,  we  say  republicanism,  introduced 
into  countries  where  vice  and  ignorance  are  predomi- 
nant, would  prove  a  bitter  curse  to  the  people  and 
world.  Under  no  possible  circumstances  is  it  right  to 
reduce  a  man  to  a  thing,  or  make  him  a  chattel ;  but 
under  certain  circumstances,  it  may  be  right  to  hold 
those  the  law  terms  slaves,  for  their  own  good  and 
that  of  the  community.  Suppose  a  slaveholder  is 
convinced  of  the  wrong  of  slavery,  and  wishes  to  free 
his  slaves.     He  begins  at  once  to  free  them.     It  may 


84  PHILOSOPHY    OF    REFORM. 

require  one  week,  or  more  or  less  time,  to  succeed. 
Is  he  guilty  for  holding  them  from  the  time  he  has 
resolved  to  give  them  their  liberty,  provided  he  does 
all  he  can  to  liberate  them?  Suppose  the  circum- 
stances are  such  that  he  conscientiously  believes  he 
cannot  do  them  and  society  justice  by  turning  them 
loose  upon  the  world  at  once.  He  holds  them  for  an 
indefinite  period ;  yet,  during  that  time,  he  is  doing 
all  he  can  to  bring  about  that  state  of  things  when  he 
can  free  them.  He  also  treats  them  as  human  beings ; 
still,  according  to  law,  they  are  chattels.  Is  he  a 
guilty  man  ?  Defending  slavery  under  such  circum- 
stances, and  such  kind  of  slavery — which  is  but  ano- 
ther name  for  apprenticeship — is  by  no  means  proof 
of  guilt.  No  doubt,  many  slaveholders  are  of  this 
character.     They  have  already  abolished  it. 

Those  modern  reformers  do  not  seek  to  reform  the 
hearts  of  men,  and  establish  right  principles  there, 
which,  from  the  nature  of  the  case,  would  remove  the 
evil  referred  to,  but  simply  to  cause  man  to  abandon  a 
single  evil ;  therefore  they  are  to  be  regarded,  in  their 
principles  and  objects,  as  subordinate  to  the  great  re- 
formation;  and,  inasmuch  as  they  claim  to  be  the 
true  system  of  reform,  as  unphilosophical  and  abso- 
lutely wrong.  You  may  write  out  the  evil  on  the 
skies  in  letters  of  fire,  and  rebuke  the  offender  fear- 
lessly; still,  you  can  never  remove  it  in  that  way. 

The  principle  of  the  reformation  is  not  to  be  found, 
therefore,  in  any  one  of  these  reforms,  nor  in  them  all 
combined.  And,  indeed,  it  is  not  so  easy  tracing  out 
and  explaining  this  principle,  after  all.  We  may  call 
a  thing  by  various  names,  and  still  have  no  good  idea 
of  it,  especially  if  it  be  something  new  and  strange. 
We  would  that  some  one  would  arise,  and  give  a 


THE    PRINCIPLE    OF    REFORMATION.  Q5 

name  to  everything,  that  should  !><•  understood  and 
acquiesced  in  by  all.  In  tins  ofcM  there  would  be  but 
hide,  room  for  controversy,  and  far  greater  and  more 
rapid  progress  in  the  truth. 

We  will  call  this  principle  Truth  ;  but  this  is  vague 
and  indefinite.  Truth  means  a  great  deal — far  more 
than  could  be  explained  in  a  volume.  It  means  all 
positive  or  real  things.  It  is  a  truth  that  the  earth  re- 
volves around  the  sun ;  that  the  sun  shines ;  that 
vegetation  springs  from  the  earth,  and  that  flowers 
bloom  ;  every  fact  is  a  truth  ;  every  real  existence  is  a 
truth.     But  all  this  is  indefinite. 

Truth  is  eternal,  immutable  and  everlasting.  It  is 
the  basis  of  God's  character,  and  the  centre  of  his 
government.  It  is  that  to  which  if  man  and  all  exist- 
ence was  perfectly  conformed,  there  would  be  perfect 
happiness  among  all  that  can  feel,  and  in  inanimate 
creation  a  full  and  perfect  development  of  itself. 

Truth  is  the  only  thing  that  exists  within  itself.  If 
truth  did  not  exist,  error  could  not ;  for,  in  this  case, 
there  would  be  nothing  to  create  error  out  of.  Any- 
thing that  will  produce  injury  to  any  being  or  creature  in 
the  universe  is  not  truth,  but  its  violation,  and  certainly 
the  truth  could  not  be  violated  if  it  did  not  exist. 

There  is  truth  in  that  beautiful  flower,  smiling  in 
the  sunlight.  It  is  truth — beautiful  truth — that  nature 
has  gathered  up  from  the  accursed  earth.  There  is 
truth  in  the  music  of  that  caroling  bird,  so  full  of  life 
and  joy,  and  whose  song  is  so  full  of  sweetness  and 
love.  There  is  truth  in  the  gentle  murmur  of  the 
silver  stream,  in  the  rustling  of  the  forest  leaf,  and  in 
the  roar  of  the  rushing  tide.  It  is  the  echo,  the  soft 
and  gentle  echo  of  the  truth,  that  lives  in  nature. 
Could  our  hearts  be  as  truthful,  as  simple,  guileless, 


86  PHILOSOPHY    OF    REFORM. 

quiet  and  innocent,  as  full  of  real  life,  as  natural,  we 
should  have  a  happy  world.  How  pure  and  true  is 
everything  around  us  that  is  unstained  by  sin  !  Truth, 
like  the  life-blood,  courses  through  nature,  where  it 
remains  as  she  was  created.  What  music  and  glory 
there  is  in  the  starry  world !  That  deep  vault  is 
studded  with  bright  worlds ;  each  one  has  its  place, 
and  performs  its  daily  and  yearly  task  without  a  mur- 
mur or  complaint.  The  whole  stupendous  system 
moves  on  in  perfect  harmony.  ,  What  a  vast  ma- 
chine !  its  harmony  is  its  music  and  glory !  No  one 
planet  has  yet  revolted.  We  find  no  lawless  orb  in 
the  heavens.  Even  the  comets  are  obedient  to  law, 
careering  though  they  may  be  from  one  end  of  crea- 
tion to  the  other.  Hence,  there  is  no  grating  discord 
and  confusion,  as  in  the  moral  world,  where  every- 
thing is  clashing  with  truth. 

Truth  can  harmonize  the  moral  world.  Did  all 
men  live  in  obedience  to  it,  and  did  they  fulfill  the  re- 
quirements of  this  being  as  truly  as  that  little  bird  or 
that  beautiful  flower,  the  terms  misery,  sorrow,  sad- 
ness and  death  would  never  have  found  a  place  in  our 
vocabularies ;  and  did  we  chance  to  meet  the  thing 
itself,  we' should  have  no  name  by  which  to  desig- 
nate it. 

Let  all  men  be  conformed  to  the  truth,  so  that  it 
shall  govern  them  in  the  transactions  of  business,  and 
in  all  the  relations  of  life — until  every  action,  thought 
and  feeling  are  in  harmony  with  it — and  this  would  be 
a  happy  world.  If  we  would  reform  mankind,  we 
must  strike  at  the  root  of  the  evil,  and  establish  truth 
there.  A  truth-governed  man,  or  a  truth-governed 
world,  is  sure  to  act  right  under  all  circumstances,  for 
their  life  and  conduct  is  conformed  to  the  truth.     The 


THE    PRINCIPLE    OF    REFORMATION.  37 

fountain  is  purified,  and  every  stream  is  therefore 
purr. 

The  principle  of  reformation  is  benevolence.  By 
this  term  II  meant  good-willing,  or  willing  good.  We 
do  not  mean  what  is  understood  by  natural  benevo- 
lence, such  as  the  brute  exhibits,  and  such  as  we  all 
possess,  for  this  is  merely  an  involuntary  state  of  mind. 
We  are  all  susceptible  of  such  emotions,  when  the  oc- 
casion is  calculated  to  excite  them,  as  when  a  fellow-be- 
ing, in  a  dependent  and  distressed  condition,  presents 
himself  before  us,  and  asks  for  aid.  The  feelings  thus 
aroused  may  cause  us  to  put  forth  a  volition  for  their 
gratification.  All  this  is  consistent  with  the  deepest 
depravity  of  the  heart.  We  often  put  forth  specific 
volitions,  in  direct  opposition  to  the  governing  purpose 
of  the  mind.  This  is  efFected  when  the  govern ing 
purpose  is  suspended,  or  Avhen  it  does  not  cause  the 
will  to  put  forth  a  corresponding  action.  But  we  mean 
by  benevolence  a  voluntary  state  of  mind.  It  is  the 
predominant,  or  governing — ultimate  state  of  the  mind. 
The  man  under  its  control,  lives  and  acts  for  the  good 
of  being.  His  constant  and  absorbing  preference  is 
good-willing,  so  that  the  mind,  when  acting  in  accord- 
ance with  it,  is  convinced  that  the  proposed  action  will 
secure  that  end,  and  stand  the  strict  test  of  truth. 

The  term,  when  used  to  signify  the  ultimate  choice 
of  the  mind,  indicates  the  same  thing,  "  Love  is  the 
fulfilling  of  the  law,"  that  is,  an  individual  under  the 
control  of  this  principle,  would  act,  in  all  cases,  as 
the  law  demands.  The  true  path  would  be  seen,  and 
love  that  governs  the  mind,  would  prompt  the  action 
that  law  requires  in  the  case.  If  man  had  never  sinned, 
he  would  not  have  needed  the  written  law,  for,  being 
under  the  control  of  love,  he  would  have  been  sure 


88  PHILOSOPHY    OF    REFORM. 

to  have  done  that  which  the  law  now  demands.  The 
obedient  child  or  scholar  needs  no  written  law.  The 
love  for  their  parents  and  teachers  will  suggest,  and 
insure,  on  all  occasions,  the  right  action. 

It  is  difficult  to  divest  the  mind  of  the  idea  of  emo- 
tion when  we  speak  of  love,  but  in  this  case  we  mean 
the  principle,  not  the  passion.  True  love  is  a  state  of 
mind.  In  a  particular  sense,  it  is  the  heart  yielded  to 
another.  That  is,  in  proportion  as  I  love  the  individ- 
ual do  I  make  his  interest  or  happiness  my  object  of 
life.  To  love  a  being  supremely,  therefore,  is  enthron- 
ing that  being  in  our  heart,  so  that  he  rules  us.  In 
this  way,  his  will  becomes  our  own.  Thus  Christ  is 
enthroned  in  the  Christian's  heart.  He  is  his  ultimate 
choice,  and  hence,  his  will  is  consulted  and  followed 
in  all  cases.  There  will  be  emotions  of  love,  or  joy 
and  delight,  in  obeying  one  whose  will  has  become 
our  own,  but  the  feeling  or  the  emotion  thus  created 
is  not  love. 

God  is  love.  This  is  his  character,  or  heart.  In  all 
things  love  governs  him.  In  every  action  that  requires 
the  exercise  of  his  power,  mercy,  or  any  other  attri- 
bute, love  governs  and  directs  him.  That  is,  love  for 
truth,  for  the  good  of  being,  and  for  all  that  is  of  any 
worth  in  his  ultimate  choice.  It  is  the  same  principle, 
that  in  the  gospel  is  called  benevolence,  and  which  is 
implanted  in  the  heart  at  the  time  of  regeneration. 
In  fact,  this  is  the  new  heart.  Were  it  of  sufficient 
strength  to  keep  the  individual  always  under  its  con- 
trol, so  that  no  action  should  be  inconsistent  with  it, 
he  would  be  a  perfect  man. 

The  law  as  given  to  Moses  and  explained  by  Christ, 
as  being  contained  in  supreme  love  to  God  and  equal 
love  to  our  fellow-men,  contains  the  principle  of  refor- 


THE    PRINCIPLE    OP    REFORMATION.  89 

ni;i! M> i).  It  marks  out  the  lost  path  of  Truth,  in  the 
dense  wilderness  in  which  man  has  become  lost  since 
the  fall.  God,  in  mercy,  has  marked  it  out.  Were  the 
world  placed  on  the  principles  contained  in  the  deca- 
logue, it  would  be  converted  to  the  truth.  The  marrow 
or  substance  of  all  these  commandments  is  found  in  thai 
single  word,  Love.  This  is  the  centre  and  sum  of 
all  moral  truth.  Inasmuch  as  Christ  required  a  prac- 
tical reception  of  this  principle,  he  proved  himself  to 
be  a  true  reformer.  He  struck  at  the  foundation.  He 
exhibited  the  principles  of  the  law  in  his  life.  He 
showed  to  the  world  how  all  men  would  act  under  the 
influence  of  love,  for  by  this  principle  he  was  gov- 
erned. He  also  taught  us  how  we  should  act  in  the 
several  relations  in  life.  He  thus  put  the  world  in 
possession  of  the  true  idea  of  religion.  He  rendered 
practical  its  principles.  He  sought  to  teach  us  what 
we  have  yet  to  learn,  viz.,  if  we  possessed  the  princi- 
ple of  love,  we  should  act  right,  and  were  we  under 
its  influence,  right  action  would  be  like  a  stream  well- 
ing up  from  a  deep  and  pure  fountain.  He  made 
himself  our  pattern,  and  directed  us  to  follow  him  in 
every  moral  enterprise.  He  was  radical,  for  he  took 
hold  of  the  roots  of  evil,  and  he  planted  the  truth  deep 
in  the  inner  heart.  We  would  say  once  more,  this 
principle  is  that  which  combines  all  moral  truth.  Were* 
it  pushed  out  to  its  full  growth,  it  would  drive  all  un- 
truth from  the  world.  It  is  found  only  by  thorough 
investigation,  and  those  who  do  not  think,  or  think 
superficially,  cannot  well  understand  it.  It  cannot 
come  to  light  itself.  It  cannot  speak  and  tell  us  its 
whereabouts.  But  we  may  find  it  by  seeking.  It  is 
the  great  purifier  that  will  yet  purge  the  dross  and 
death  out  of  this  world. 


90  PHILOSOPHY    OF    REFORM. 

This  is  a  simple  principle,  we  grant,  but  it  possesses 
almighty  power.  It  is  the  conservative  principle  of 
the  world.  It  was  beyond  man's  reach  or  thought 
until  God  revealed  it.  Its  full  development  is  the 
world's  only  hope.  In  vain  do  we  look  to  any  other 
source  for  the  aid  we  need.  Annihilate  the  influence 
and  knowledge  of  it  in  the  world,  and  the  heart  of  that 
system,  from  which  we  receive  all  our  blessings,  has 
ceased  to  beat.  All  our  strength  would  then  become 
weakness,  and  our  wisdom  folly  ;  and  we  should  be 
left  to  wander  in  darkness,  grope  in  ignorance,  and  be 
steeped  in  vice. 

But  it  may  be  asked  what  connection  there  is  be- 
tween the  development  of  a  moral  principle,  and  the 
elevation  of  man  as  an  intellectual,  social  and  civil 
being]  Without  the  existence  of  this  life-giving  and 
life-preserving  principle,  the  world  would  soon  die  and 
be  scattered.  Indirectly,  then,  at  least,  it  perfects  men 
in  all  truth.  And  furthermore,  there  is  no  other  way 
to  arouse  him  from  a  state  of  deep  ignorance  and  vice, 
than  through  the  influence  of  the  principle  referred  to. 
We  have  him,  then,  awakened  from  his  sleep,  and 
brought  into  submission  to  God.  In  this  state,  he 
finds  a  thousand  relations  between  himself  and  his  fel- 
low-men, of  which  he  was  before  wholly  ignorant.  New 
and  multiplied  duties  arising  from  these  relations  begin 
to  press  upon  him  at  every  turn.  They  must  be  per- 
formed. They  present  themselves  to  him  as  so  many 
subordinate  objects  of  life.  He  seeks  them.  Every 
effort  increases  the  strength  of  those  faculties  which 
are  called  into  exercise  to  gain  them.  Thus  the  whole 
man  is  gradually  developed,  and  by  trial  and  experi- 
ence he  comes,  in  time,  to  adopt  those  measures  and 
plans  which  are  necessary  to  accomplish  his  work  in 


THE    PRINCIPLE    OF    REFORMATION.  91 

life.  We  might  be  more  specific,  and  speak  of  the 
manner  of  his  acquiring,  from  this  start  he  hasrccem  <l, 
civil,  scientific,  and,  if  you  please,  literary  truth,  hut 
we  think  it  needless.  It  may  be  sufficient  to  say,  he 
will  perfect  himself  in  all  these  truths,  for  they  are  but 
the  application  of  the  great  principle  of  truth  to  single 
specific  departments.  That  is,  the  individual  becomes 
so  developed,  as  to  demand  those  things,  as  a  civil  or 
intellectual  being,  that  truth  will  sanction. 

Ought  the  true  reformatory  plan  to  be  held  forth  m 
practical,  and  its  principles  exhibited,  or  is  it  not 
rather  expedient  to  get  hold  of  a  single  truth  that  men 
can  appreciate  and  understand,  and  so  bring  up  the 
world  gradually?  One  thing  is  certain,  viz.,  in  no 
other  way  can  the  world  be  reformed,  but  gradually  ; 
still,  as  sure  as  the  stream  cannot  rise  higher  than 
the  fountain,  so  sure  it  is,  that  the  world  cannot  be 
reformed  by  preaching  a  single  truth  merely.  Here 
is  your  object,  to  secure  the  world  in  this  or  that  posi- 
tion ;  and  soon,  it  comes  to  be  regarded  as  the  extended 
table  land  on  the  highest  summit  of  Heaven.  It  may 
prove  to  be  but  a  little  crag,  or  projecting  rock,  thrown 
out  from  the  mountain  that  overlooks  the  plain  of 
ignorance  and  death.  If  you  gain  it,  you  have  made 
no  real  advancement.  The  only  practical  plan,  there- 
fore, is  to  embody  the  principle  we  have  set  forth,  and 
carry  it  out  into  every  department  of  life. 

This  principle  is  a  moral  one,  divulged  by  God  him- 
self; therefore,  we  are  not  to  look  to  any  human 
organization  to  propagate  it.  The  responsibility  of 
fully  developing  and  establishing  it,  rests  upon  the 
embodied  Christianity  of  the  world.  This  should  be 
made  so  plain,  that  a  doubt  would  be  traitorous  to  the 
human  species.     Let  the  world  be  convinced  that  this 


92  PHILOSOPHY    OF    REFORM. 

principle  is  the  germ  of  the  true  reformation,  and  that 
the  Church  is  to  cultivate  it,  and  rear  it  up  to  full 
maturity,  and  it  would  change  the  aspect  of  all  things  at 
once.  It  would  breathe  words  of  encouragement  and 
courage  into  the  Church.  It  would  unfold  the  Mas- 
ter's sacrifices,  wishes,  sympathy  and  love  to  her.  It 
would  give  her  strength  and  dignity,  from  its  solid, 
heathful  and  all-conquering  truth.  It  would  make 
her  stern,  rigid,  kind  and  gentle.  It  would  drive  her 
to  the  Cross,  down-pressed  with  anguish,  and  in  tears 
and  sorrow  to  unburden  her  spirit  and  spread  out 
her  complaints.  It  would  engage  her  in  heartfelt 
and  healthful  co-operation  for  the  world's  thorough 
reformation.  All  men  would  abandon  their  various 
schemes  for  the  same  object,  and  while  they  sustained 
the  Church  in  her  appropriate  work,  they  would  seek 
to  develop  and  bring  out  into  clear  being,  themselves. 

It  is  the  murder-cry  of  an  infidel  world,  to  say  there 
is  not  sufficient  strength  in  Zion  for  this  purpose,  or 
for  the  exigencies  of  any  time.  To  accomplish  a  great 
work,  we  must  undertake  a  great  one.  The  strength 
of  the  Church  has  never  been  called  out,  and  never 
will  be  until  the  whole  work  is  spread  out  before  her. 
The  Almighty,  who  could  lead  his  people  through  the 
Red  Sea  in  safety — shield  his  faithful  ones  in  the  fiery 
furnace — and  shut  the  mouths  of  lions — can  give  to 
his  people  triumph  in  any  emergency.  He  will  do  it 
by  adhering  to  the  principle  of  truth.  He  overrules 
and  manages  to  give  full  scope  to  this  principle,  and 
develop  it  fully. 

Therefore  we  should  understand  it,  and  make  it 
our  measure  of  a  full-grown  reform,  and  onr  scale  for 
all  our  plans  in  the  prosecution  of  any  reform,  and 
our  balances  in  which  we  weigh  every  moral  work  ; 


THE    PRINCIPLE    OP    REFORMATION.  93 

and  then,  if  we  are  called  upon  to  stand  alone,  we 
shall  be  able  to  stand  firm,  unshaken  and  confident, 
though  the  elements  are  nt  wnr  around  us.  We  shall 
then  be  able  to  nwvi  and  withstand  the  sneers  and 
scoffs  of  those  who  understand  not  the  true  reforma- 
tion, and  are,  therefore,  constantly  crying  out  against 
the  Church  and  denouncing  all  men  evil,  when,  if 
they  should  succeed  in  bringing  the  world  to  them- 
selves, it  would  need  reforming  more  than  before.  It 
is  difficult  to  cope  with  such  men,  for  they  are  fiery, 
and  half  madmen,  and  when  they  cannot  call  out 
others  to  fight  them,  they  will  turn  and  fight  their  fol- 
lowers. The  organization  of  such  spirits  will  possess  the 
elements  of  discord,  confusion  and  disunion,  and  gen- 
erate sour,  morose  and  deadly  hatred.  If  you  meet 
them,  you  must  meet  the  sting  of  asps  and  scorpions : 
if  you  inhale  their  spirit,  convulsions  will  seize  you, 
for  it  is  the  quintessence  of  the  worlds  astringent,  or 
the  vinegar  of  the  world's  vengeanbe.  A  possession 
of  the  truth  alone  will  effectually  guard  us  against 
them. 

The  Church  and  the  world  must  be  called  back  to 
this  plan  of  reformation.  The  spirit  of  truth  must  be 
instilled  into  the  heart  of  the  Church,  until  it  is  filled, 
and  her  whole  being  conformed  to  it.  She  will  then 
act  appropriately  and  efficiently  on  all  occasions,  and 
not  be  led  away  to  engage  in  man-devised  projects  for 
elevating  the  race.  Her  movements  would  exhibit 
firmness,  confidence,  uniformity  and  pure  benevolence. 
Such  an  exhibition  would  be  grand  and  sublime,  and 
contrast  greatly  with  our  present  fitful,  spasmodic  and 
unnatural  efforts.  Such  a  people  would  win  the  world 
to  the  truth,  and  hasten  rapidly  the  world's  thorough 
reformation. 


CHAPTER    V 


THE    EMBODIMENT    AND    CONSERVATIVE     POWER    OF 
THE    PRINCIPLE    OF   REFORMATION. 

The  principle  of  the  Reformation  embodied  in  the  Cross  of  Christ— The 
Cross  defined — An  exhibit  of  its  moral  power — The  philosophy  of  the 
Ancients — The  wisdom  of  man — Modern  reform  enterprises— Univer- 
sal Education— Society  remodeled— The  Church  reformed— Human 
governments  perfected— Our  literature  purified. 

How  cheering  to  the  wayworn  traveler  is  that  bright 
star,  suddenly  appearing  through  the  breaking  clouds 
that  have  overhung  the  heavens  for  days.  It  is  a 
fixed  star.  Its  position  is  never  changed,  therefore  it 
is  the  same  at  the  wandering  man's  home,  as  he  now 
beholds  it  while  lost  in  the  dense  forest.  It  is  to  him, 
then,  a  truthful  star,  his  director  and  guide.  It  in- 
spires him  with  confidence,  courage  and  strength,  and 
gives  a  new  impulse  to  his  whole  being. 

That  star  did  not  speak  to  him.  It  could  not  hail 
him,  down-pressed  in  gloom  and  despair,  and  bid  him 
follow  trustfully.  Yet  it  did  speak  to  him,  and  awake 
within  his  inner  heart  confidence  and  strength.  Its 
position,  its  constancy  there,  and  its  all-truthfulness, 
are  a  voice  to  him,  uttering  words  of  cheer  and  com- 
fort. There  is  but  one  "  North  star  ;"  therefore,  this 
is  of  more  worth  to  him,  and  exerts  a  greater  influence 
over   him   in   the  unpathed  wilderness   than   all  the 


EMBQDPfBNT  AND  CONSKKVATIY'K  |N)\V|;|[.    <»;, 

other  ten  thousand  bright  ami  ii\«d  stars  tlmt  twinkle 
in  the  heavens. 

In  that  wide,  waste  desert  there  is  but  a  single 
spring  for  a  thousand  miles  round.  It  is  pure,  ever- 
living  and  ever-flowing.  It  wells  up,  clear  and  cool, 
from  the  world's  heart. 

See  ye  that  wandering  tribe,  standing  upon  a  small 
eminence — made,  perhaps,  with  their  brothers'  bones, 
over  which  the  sand  has  drifted — sad,  fainting,  and 
wild  almost  from  thirst,  looking,  listening,  and  turn- 
ing first  in  this  and  then  in  that  direction.  Look  still 
closer,  and  mark  that  huge  hunch-back  animal,  the 
faithful  servant  of  the  tribe,  snuffing  up  the  wind,  and 
with  a  significant  leer  turning  to  his  master  He  speaks 
as  well  as  he  is  able,  saying,  "  Yonder  is  water."  How 
soon  the  whole  tribe  is  in  motion,  and  with  what  rapid- 
ity they  hasten  to  the  life-giving  well !  How  is  this  1 
That  clear,  pure  fountain  had  no  trumpet-voice,  yet  it 
sent  its  silent  whisper  on  the  wind's  wing  to  the  ear  of 
the  poor  camel,  and  he  announced  the  tidings  to  the 
fainting  master,  just  as  the  silent  voice  of  lightning 
runs  through  the  lengthened  wire,  and  whispers  to  the 
listener  the  thoughts  and  words  of  him  who  has  har- 
nessed down  the  winged  agent  that,  in  speed,  is 
thought's  rival. 

Does  not  that  spring  fashion  and  direct  the  destiny 
of  the  tribes  of  the  desert?  Is  not  every  journey 
made  in  reference  to  it?  Is  not  this  "living  water" 
the  life  of  the  desert  ?  Let  the  earth  withhold  this 
pure  gift,  and  how  long  would  life  live  ?  How  soon 
would  follow  the  death  of  man  and  beast,  and  eternal 
silence  reign  through  all  that  arid,  parched  land  ! 
The  strong,  proud  and  haughty  savage,  with  his  skin 
well  filled  with  water,  and  his  pouch  with  tobacco,  may 
5 


96  PHILOSOPHY    OF    REFORM. 

defy  the  arm  of  man  and  the  power  of  death,  but  how 
soon  he  withers  and  dies  when  Nature  withholds  her 
rich  blessings  ! 

Therefore,  it  13  not  true  that  that  which  has  no 
tongue,  no  speech  or  articulation,  has  no  influence 
or  power  to  shape  and  direct  our  destiny.  It  is  also 
evident,  from  the  same  facts,  that  that,  without  which 
we  could  not  live,  within  the  moral,  social,  civil  and 
intellectual  world,  has  greater  influence  over  us,  both 
direct  and  indirect,  than  all  things  else  whatsoever. 
Suppose  this  life-preserving  and  life-giving  something 
is  not  known,  the  facts  in  reference  to  it  are  not  de- 
stroyed, any  more  than  the  ignorance  of  the  man  in 
reference  to  the  organism  of  the  heart,  and  its  design 
in  the  physical  system,  destroys  the  fact  that  it  is  the 
seat  of  life,  and  that  through  its  agency  the  blood  is 
distributed  through  the  whole  body. 

We  will  now  state  that  the  principle  of  reforma- 
tion— that  without  which  the  world,  in  every  depart- 
ment, would  die  hopeless  of  re-life — is  embodied  in 
the  Cross  of  Christ.  We  hope  to  make  this  evident 
to  all,  after  which  its  omnipotent  power  shall  be  ex- 
hibited. 

By  the  Cross  of  Christ,  we  do  not  mean  that  carved 
and  gilded  cross  that  was  borne  aloft  amid  the  rushing 
thousands  who  sought  to  rescue  the  grave  of  Jesus 
from  the  proud  infidel,  nor  the  one  painted  so  con- 
spicuously in  the  vast  cathedral,  or  hung  in  gold 
around  the  maiden's  neck.  The  Cross  has  no  sym- 
pathy with  the  pomp  and  bustle  of  the  world,  nor 
with  a  religion  of  forms  and  ceremonies.  But  we 
mean  the  doctrines  of  the  gospel ;  or  that  which 
embodies  these  doctrines,  and  presents  them  in  all 
their  clearness  and   force  to  the  mind.      We  mean 


EMBODIMENT    AND    CONSERVATIVE    POWER.        97 

(  In  ist,  as  the  world's  confidence  and  model — Christ, 
who  justifies  by  his  blood  and  sanctifies  by  his  grace. 
By  erecting  the  Cross  in  the  earth,  we  mean  the  en- 
throning Christ  in  the  hearts  of  men,  and  placing  him 
,u  the  mind's  helm,  so  that  he  directs  the  man  whither- 
soever he  will ;  or,  it  is  painting  his  image  upon  the 
m mil's  sky,  as  its  ideal,  model  man,  with  an  inhe- 
rent, powerful  influence,  like  that  of  a  charmer,  to 
mould  and  fashion  the  whole  soul  and  life  after  its 
own  pattern. 

The  Cross  of  Christ  is  the  embodiment  of  the  truth. 
God  in  the  flesh  is  truth  incarnated.  Heretofore,  men 
had  doubted,  stumbled  and  everywhere  fallen.  True, 
God  did  partially  reveal  himself  to  the  world  while 
the  national  king  of  the  Jews,  and  mark  out,  with 
more  or  less  certainty,  the  path  of  life  and  truth  ;  but 
his  instructions  were  soon  forgotten  or  perverted,  and 
thus  the  highway  of  truth  was  nearly  grown  up  to 
thorns,  and  lost  to  the  world.  In  fact,  from  the  dark- 
ness of  the  minds  of  this  people,  it  was  impossible  to 
reveal  the  whole  truth  clearly  and  fully  to  them.  All 
they  could  comprehend,  or  all  they  were  prepared  to 
receive,  was  given  them.  Christ  came,  and  in  him 
was  embodied  the  truth,  some  portions  of  which  had 
been  partially  taught  the  world  in  a  previous  dispen- 
sation. The  world  had  labored  long  to  develop  this 
truth.  Wise  men  and  philosophers  had  taxed  all 
their  powers  to  invent  a  system  of  morals  that  should 
teach  men  how  to  live  and  die,  but  all  their  efforts 
were  in  vain.  The  wisest  of  them  all  was  compelled 
to  acknowledge  his  ignorance,  and  declare  his  belief 
that  the  time  would  come  when  One  should  arise  com- 
petent to  instruct  the  world  into  all  truth. 

Christ  lived,  moved  in  man's  accustomed  sphere  of 


98  PHILOSOPHY    OF    REFORM. 

life,  was  seen  in  his  various  relations,  and  thereby 
taught  us  how  we  should  live  and  rightly  conduct 
ourselves  on  every  occasion.  His  spirit,  his  tem- 
per, and  all  his  actions  were  the  legitimate  result  of 
the  principle  of  truth  that  governed  him.  As  we  have 
said,  the  world  had  stumbled,  and  was  stumbling,  and 
was  still  most  likely  to  stumble  into  still  greater  dark- 
ness. To  instance  a  single  case  :  It  had  been  taught 
by  the  moralists  of  the  day,  that  it  was  right  to  take  an 
eye  for  an  eye  and  a  tooth  for  a  tooth ;  and  that  man 
should  avenge  his  own  wrongs.  But  Christ,  both  by 
precept  and  example,  taught  the  very  opposite  doc- 
trine, and  made  the  people  see  that  a  benevolent 
mind  would  necessarily  act  as  he  required  in  this  re- 
spect. 

Truth  was  no  longer  to  be  studied  in  the  abstract 
by  the  aid  of  a  few  philosophical  teachers,  but  given 
to  the  people,  and  rendered  practical  in  their  daily 
life.  If  they  could  not  reason  from  first  principles, 
and  learn  how  they  should  act  on  specific  occasions, 
they  could  witness  the  conduct  of  Christ,  and  follow 
him,  and  in  so  doing  they  would  see  and  feel  that 
they  were  acting  as  the  principles  of  truth  would  dic- 
tate. 

Truth,  in  respect  to  the  whole  duty  of  man,  stands 
out  clear  and  distinct  upon  the  Cross.  Its  influence  is 
to  strike  into  the  heart  of  things  at  once,  and  thus  put 
the  whole  system  to  rights.  It  is  like  the  mariner's 
coast-pilot,  which  he  often  consults,  and  ever  trusts 
confidingly.  He  rights,  shapes  and  directs  his  course 
by  this.  This  simple  spread-out  map  has  great  power 
over  that  vessel's  crew.  It  is  their  King,  whose  word 
is  law,  and  to  which  they  yield  without  complaining. 
A  sight  of  the  Cross  will  reveal  to  us  the  path  of  truth. 


EMBODIMENT    AND    CONSERVATIVE    POWER.       99 

We  need  not,  therefore,  wander  and  stumble,  c\<  n  m 
the  pathless  ocean.  It  also  has  power  to  detect  and 
destroy  error.  It  warns  and  directs  errorists  md 
should  its  instructions  be  followed,  we  might  strike 
the  term  from  our  language,  for  we  would  have  no 
farther  use  for  it.  All  power  is  in  truth.  There  is  no 
strength  in  anything  else.  Error  is  something  dead, 
and  when  it  produces  any  effect,  it  is  the  action  of 
mull  striving  to  get  rid  of  it.  He  who  would  walk 
must  do  so  just  as  all  men  do,  erect,  and  conformable 
to  the  laws  of  walking  that  are  given  in  nature.  To 
him  who  leans  too  much  any  way,  his  walking  is  an 
error,  just  no  walking  at  all,  and  he  will  surely  topple 
and  fall.  Error  in  morals  also,  may  be  regarded  as 
(null  while  it  has  any  power.  The  moment  that 
truth,  in  its  operation,  has  shown  error  to  be  such, 
(fork  is  as  true  in  the  moral  as  in  the  physical  world, 
when  injury  is  caused  to  any  part  an  effort  will  be 
made  to  heal  or  cure  it,)  men  will  leave  it  as  a  dead, 
loathsome  thing,  and  wonder  they  ever  could  have 
regarded  it  as  alive  so  long.  Hence,  we  are  accus- 
tomed to  ridicule  and  blame  our  fathers  for  not  being 
as  wise  as  ourselves,  when  we  may  probably  have 
greater  errors,  which  will  be  seen  and  rejected  by  those 
of  coming  time. 

Now  there  is  no  error  in  the  Cross.  It  is  like  a  well- 
built,  beautiful,  and  everlastingly-existing  temple.  Its 
ten  thousand  portions  of  truth  are  hewed,  squared  and 
durable,  like  the  granite  rock  that  has  been  quarried 
from  the  world's  foundation.  It  has  strength  to  rend 
the  heart  and  subdue  the  will — power  enough  then  ; 
for  no  man,  or  men,  with  the  control  of  the  world's 
strength  well  harnessed  down,  can  do  this.  Its  strength 


100  PHILOSOPHY    OF    REFORM. 

is  not  that  of  a  giant,  an  Alexander,  or  a  tiger,  but 
that  of  truth.  The  exertion  of  its  power,  therefore, 
is  not  with  the  voice  of  thunder,  nor  with  the  rush  of 
the  whirlwind,  but  in  the  stillness  of  eternity — for 
it  subdues  not  by  physical  force,  but  by  its  all-powerful, 
silent  influence. 

Let  us  now  examine  a  few  facts  to  illustrate  and 
establish  our  position.  Wherever  the  Cross  has  been 
exhibited,  superstition,  ignorance  and  vice  have  fled. 
It  has  destroyed  and  removed  the  errors  of  the  people, 
however  venomous  the  viperous  brood.  It  has  every- 
where created  a  healthful  moral  sentiment.  It  has 
revolutionized  every  former  existing  system,  by  devel- 
oping the  human  mind  until  it  outgrew  them,  and 
introduced  others  of  a  more  extensive  and  perfect 
character.  Thus,  habits  of  indolence  and  vice  have 
been  corrected,  tyrannical  and  cruel  civil  governments 
remodeled,  and  a  regular  system  of  education  intro- 
duced. We  have  facts  in  our  own  time  of  sufficient 
number  and  variety,  without  referring  to  the  history  of 
any  past  age,  to  sustain  the  truth  of  these  assertions. 

The  Sandwich  Islanders  were,  but  a  few  years  ago, 
sunken  in  the  deepest  depravity,  and  fast  passing  away 
as  a  people,  in  consequence  of  their  vicious  course  of 
life.  The  gospel  was  introduced  among  them,  and 
its  healing  remedy  applied.  Although  they  still  ex- 
hibit the  rents  and  scars  of  a  vicious  life,  in  every  por- 
tion of  their  system  the  disease  has  been  removed,  and 
health  and  vigor  is  now  everywhere  visible.  The 
primary  object  of  the  gospel  was  to  reach  and  purify 
the  heart ;  and,  in  this  way,  the  intellect,  the  affec- 
tions and  the  whole  mind,  have  been  renovated. 
Their   new  form   of  government,  their   schools   and 


EMBODIMENT    AND    CONSERVATIVE    POWER.     101 

printing  presses,  are  so  many  proofs  of  the  great  power 
of  the  Cross.  What  but  truth,  and  that  alone,  could 
effect  this  entire  revolution  ? 

The  Greek  and  Roman  nations  are  examples  of 
those  systems  formed  under  the  influence  of  truth, 
which,  in  its  first  introduction  affected  almost  the  entire 
race,  without  being  exhibited  in  so  clear  and  perfect  a 
light,  or  possessed  in  so  great  a  degree,  as  it  is  embodied 
in  the  Cross.  All  their  intelligence  can  be  traced  to  the 
introduction  of  truth  by  the  Father  of  lights.  Their 
intellects,  but  not  their  hearts,  were  educated.  They 
lacked  the  conservative  principle  of  the  true  reforma- 
tion in  their  system.  It  is  not  to  be  expected  that  a 
people  can  live  forever,  and  continue  to  improve, 
whose  moral  systems  regarded  anger,  revenge  and 
every  impetuous  passion,  virtuous,  and  made  virtue 
itself  to  consist  in  skill  in  the  games,  in  rank,  love  of 
fame,  or  the  command  over  themselves.  They  made 
no  provision  but  for  a  small  portion  of  the  whole  being. 
The  social  and  the  moral  man  was  uncared  for.  The 
moral  had  been  in  the  beginning  sufficiently  educated 
to  awaken  the  intellect,  which  was  then  cultivated  at 
the  expense  of  everything  else.  They  became  extinct 
when  they  had  outgrown  their  system,  just  as  every 
other  people  have  and  will,  in  any  other  age  of  the 
world.  We  need  a  system  that  shall  give  full  play  to 
every  faculty  and  feeling  when  cultivated  in  the  most 
perfect  degree  ;  and  then  we  may  look  for  regular, 
permanent  and  rapid  improvement. 

Is  it  not  evident,  therefore,  that  the  Cross  does  em- 
body the  truth  and  the  true  principle  of  reformation  1 
Have  we  hot  the  recorded  folly  of  wise  men  seeking 
to  reform  the  world  without  it,  on  its  page  of  history  ? 
May  not  all  those  who  ridicule  these  notions,  and  with 


102  PHILOSOPHY    OF    REFORM. 

self-confidence  and  boasting  of  exalted  views  talk  of 
the  law  of  progress  of  the  race,  read  their  folly  and 
future  history  on  the  pages  of  the  past  ? 

What  is  the  moral  power  of  this  principle  as  em- 
bodied in  the  Cross !  Let  us  consider  its  moral  refor- 
matory power,  its  power  to  remodel  men  and  society, 
and  its  revolutionary  power,  or  its  ability  to  tear  down 
and  destroy  all  institutions  that  are  built  on  error,  and 
erect  a  stately  and  enduring  edifice  in  their  place. 

In  what  does  this  omnipotent  power  of  the  Cross  con- 
sist?    Where  is  the  secret  of  its  preserving  influence? 

It  is  the  emblem  of  purity.  A  bright,  clear  flame, 
that  not  only  exhibits  its  own  purity,  but  possesses 
power  to  destroy  all  impurity,  and  combustible  mate- 
rials. To  be  successful  in  removing  a  moral  evil,  we 
should  exhibit,  as  clearly  and  definitely  as  possible,  its 
opposite.  He  who  names  the  sin  at  once  of  which  we 
are  guilty,  and  denounces  us  in  unmeasured  terms, 
arrays  our  entire  being  against  himself.  We  may  be 
overcome,  during  his  severity,  under  certain  circum- 
stances, but  it  is  for  other  reasons  than  his  denuncia- 
tion, and  not  from  conviction  of  duty.  There  are 
times  when  the  evil  should  be  pointed  out  and  rebuked, 
but  always  in  a  manner  that  will  secure  our  better 
nature  in  behalf  of  the  reprover.  Men  may  be  Avon 
by  plainness  and  kindness,  but  never  driven  by  the 
stings  of  scorpions.  Now  purity  flashes  right  out  from 
the  Cross.  It  is  like  a  bright  and  vivid  light  in  a  dark 
cavern.  It  reveals  to  the  individual  who  had  laid 
himself  there  to  rest  for  the  night,  every  horrid  and 
venomous  reptile,  which,  during  his  sleep,  had  been 
crawling  and  twisting  their  cold,  slimy  folds  around 
his  body.  Who  will  not  shudder,  when  the  deep  and 
damning  depravity  of  his  own  heart  is  revealed  to  him 


EMBODIMENT    AND    CONSERVATIVE    POWER.      J03 

by  the  purity  that  is  reflects  I  htm  the  Cross?  Sin 
and  evil  are  ashamed  and  shrink  away,  when  brought 
into  this  holy  light.  Its  sensations  upon  such  are  most 
withering  and  killing.  As  the  light  has  power  to  scat- 
ter darkness,  so  has  the  Cross  to  destroy  all  evil.  He 
who  would  drive  it  from  the  world,  let  him  grasp  this 
torch-light  and  wave  it  every  where,  and  thus  make  the 
darkness  seen,  felt,  hated — and  it  will  be  abandoned. 

The  exhibition  of  Christ's  disinterested  benevolence 
in  the  Cross  gives  it  great  moral  power.  What  can 
have  a  stronger  hold  upon  the  affections  and  hearts  of 
men  than  the  compassion  and  mercy  of  Heaven,  as 
exhibited  in  the  sufferings  and  death  of  Christ  I  His 
life  was  made  up  of  one  continued  series  of  self-denial 
and  sacrifices,  for  the  good  of  the  race.  No  wonder, 
therefore,  when  he  was  held  forth  by  the  Apostles  as 
the  Saviour  of  the  wTorld — when  they  exhibited  him 
as  the  pattern  of  every  excellence  and  charity — when 
they  portrayed  his  self-denying  labors  and  great  suffer- 
ings— when  they  led  their  audience  into  the  garden, 
and  there  listened  to  his  prayer  for  the  world,  when 
he  saw  the  storms  of  his  Father's  wrath  breaking  upon 
the  earth — when  they  pointed  out  his  meekness,  pa- 
tience and  humility  under  persecution — when  they 
gazed  upon  him,  rising  from  the  swoon  into  which  he 
had  fallen  under  his  cross — and  when  they  looked 
upon  him  nailed  to  the  wood,  with  his  bosom  covered 
with  blood,  sweat  and  tears — that  the  hearts  of  men 
were  filled  with  condemnation  and  fear,  that  caused 
them  to  demand  an  immediate  remedy. 

Here  is  the  world  on  the  brink  of  the  gulf  of  de- 
spair and  death.  The  elements  are  tempest-tossed, 
while  darkness  broods  over  the  tenants  of  the  pit,  and 
the  red,  rolling  wave  of  flame  shoots  up  here  and 
5# 


104  PHILOSOPHY    OF    REFORM. 

there  in  wild,  raving  restlessness,  that  makes  the  very- 
darkness  visible,  and  adds  new  horror  to  the  scene. 
God's  vengeance  dwells  there,  and  there,  too,  are  the 
fiery  thunderbolts  of  his  wrath.  The  undying  worm, 
with  withering,  scorpion  sting,  is  there.  Death  reigns 
there.  Christ,  the  angel  of  the  covenant,  looks  out 
upon  the  scene,  and  his  compassion  is  moved  within 
him.  He  comes  to  the  rescue.  He  opens  his  own 
bosom  to  shield  men  from  the  impending  storm.  He 
offers  his  own  wisdom  and  hand  to  guide  the  world  to 
heaven.  He  is  insulted,  abused,  rejected  and  mur- 
dered, but  not  discouraged.  His  compassion  lives 
while  his  body  is  bleeding  in  death.  The  grave  can- 
not contain  him.  He  bursts  its  shrouds,  and  hastens 
to  the  court  of  Heaven,  to  plead  for  suspension  of  the 
execution  of  the  sentence  of  death.  He  puts  means  in 
train  to  press  the  cup  of  life  to  the  lips  of  all,  that  he 
may  heal  and  save  us.  Gaze  upon  that  Cross,  and 
all  this  exhibited  compassion,  the  full  depth  of  which 
cannot  be  sounded  in  this  world,  and  we  shall  find  it 
able  to  awaken  every  class  of  right  emotions,  and 
keep  them  alive.  Here  is  something  that  takes  hold 
upon  our  hearts  as  with  hooks  of  steel,  and,  un- 
less they  are  like  adamant,  they  will  yield.  What  is 
so  well  calculated  to  subdue  us  as*  disinterested  affec- 
tion 1  Who  has  not  numberless  proofs  of  its  all-pow- 
erful, sweet  and  controlling  influence  in  his  own  expe- 
rience 1 

The  Cross  of  Christ  is  God  with  man.  It  is  the 
representation  of  God.  All  that  mortal  men  can  see 
and  know  of  him  is  here  exhibited.  His  nature  and 
his  character  are  here  illustrated.  His  holiness,  his 
greatness,  dignity  and  strength  are  here  visible.  Here, 
too,  his  requirements  are  set  forth.     It  is  the  incar- 


noonopx  ami  oommvATivi-:  mwi-:n     m.-, 

nation  or  embodiment  of  God — at  least,  all  thai  we 
can  comprehend.  No  wonder,  therefore,  that  Christ 
spoke  as  one  having  authority.  No  wonder  that  his 
power  was  everywhere  ft  It  ;  and  his  Cross  is  his  em- 
bodiment. No  wonder,  therefore,  that  it  possesses 
omnipotent  force. 

It  also  possesses  all  the  power  of  God's  authority, 
and  all  the  weight  of  his  holy  character.  It  exhibits 
liini  as  acting  all  along  with  the  greatest  compassion, 
and  proves  him  to  have  regarded  the  death  of  his  Son 
as  a  less  evil  than  the  destruction  of  the  world.  It 
must,  therefore,  produce  submission  in  the  one  who 
beholds  it,  or  cause  him  to  take  an  attitude  of  more 
shameful  rebellion. 

Its  great  worth  must  give  it  vast  influence.  It  has 
power,  as  we  have  seen,  to  induce  right  action.  Will 
not  this  power  be  proportioned  to  the  worth  of  that 
object  it  would  induce  us  to  seek  1  This  object  is  that 
which  should  be  our  end  and  aim  in  life.  The  Cross 
proclaims  its  infinite  value  and  the  utter  worthless- 
ness  of  the  world.  This  declaration  is  believed. 
Could  it  be,  did  not  the  Cross  possess  great  influence  ? 

It  is  the  power  of  God.  The  work  to  be  accom- 
plished, or  object  gained,  is  the  subjugation  of  the 
will  to  truth.  He  who  made  the  world,  and  all  worlds, 
might  have  ordained  other  means  to  secure  this  ob- 
ject, but  his  infinite  wisdom  suggested  this,  and  this, 
therefore,  must  be  the  power  to  effect  the  greatest 
work  of  the  universe ;  for  he  says  they  shall  be  wil- 
ling in  the  day  of  his  power. 

Whenever  and  wherever  it  is  preached,  there  is  an 
invisible  and  all-conquering  agency  attending  it. 
This  influence  is  intimately  connected  with  it,  and 
never  to  be  separated  from  it.     It  is  the  third  person 


JOG  PHILOSOPHY    OF    REFORM. 

in  the  Trinity  that  is  pledged  to  attend  the  faithful 
preaching  of  the  gospel  with  omnipotent  power 
Here,  then,  is  the  invisible  God  aiding  in  the  exhibi 
tion  of  his  character,  enforcing  his  requirements,  open- 
ing the  heart  to  admit  the  light  of  truth,  holding  up 
Christ  in  all  his  loveliness  and  moral  beauty  to  the 
eye  of  the  inner  man,  and  working  whatever  may  be 
necessary  in  the  mind  to  secure  its  just,  right  action 
in  the  case. 

This  is  the  rallying  cry  of  heaven,  and  should  be  of 
the  world.  It  should  be  that  which  is  borne  aloft  in 
every  pressing  crowd,  amid  every  people  and  in  every 
land,  as  the  watchword  or  inspiriting  note  to  arouse 
and  engage  every  feeling  and  nerve  the  whole  being  for 
true  action.  It  should  be  like  the  peal  of  heaven's 
trumpet,  to  call  the  sacramental  host  to  the  onset,  caus- 
ing vibrations  to  thrill  through  the  world  that  would  be 
prolonged  through  life  and  eternity.  This  mercy-cry 
that  will  be  heard  over  all  the  hills  and  through  all 
the  valleys  of  eternal  years,  should  give  us  strength 
and  courage  for  our  warfare.  With  what  enthusiasm 
and  zeal  the  crusades  were  carried  on— what  sacrifices 
and  self-denials  were  made — and  all  for  the  cross  that 
was  elevated  in  their  midst.  It  was  to  rescue  from 
the  haughty  infidel  the  land  once  trod  by  the  Messiah, 
and  in  which  was  his  sepulchre,  that  inspirited  them. 
They  contended  with  the  hearts  and  feelings  of  earth's 
warriors.  Their  enthusiasm  was  of  that  character 
which  animates  a  nation  engaged  in  a  fierce  contest 
with  a  foreign  foe.  The  cross  to  them  was  the  em- 
blem of  royalty.  It  exhibited  none  of  those  acts  and 
truths  that  inspire  the  heart  of  the  true  Christian. 
Still,  its  influence  governed  and  directed  them.  What, 
then,  must  be  the  power  of  the  Cross  of  Christ,  if  this, 


EMBODIMENT    AND    CONSERVATIVE    POWER.      \(yj 

which  exhibited  but  a  tithe  of  its  inspiriting  influence, 
had  such  great  power  over  thorn]  In  fart,  without 
the  Cross  of  Christ,  everything  would  soon  wither 
and  die.  We  search  in  vain  amid  am  heathen  sys- 
tem for  pure  religion  or  education,  or  for  any  good 
degree  of  perfection  in  the  arts  and  sciences,  or  for  a 
pure  literature.  Ignorance,  like  the  darkness  of  night, 
has  enshrouded  them  for  ages,  and  death  has  his 
throne  there,  and  whatever  is  of  any  benefit  to  man 
he  has  malignantly  and  revengefully  sacrificed.  But 
erect  the  Cross  there,  and  the  wilderness  will  blossom 
as  the  rose,  the  lion  is  changed  to  a  lamb  and  the 
vulture  to  the  dove. 

The  extent  of  the  power  of  the  Cross  is  limitless,  for 
it  is  the  power  of  God.  It  is  capable  of  reaching  and 
relieving  the  wants  of  the  entire  race.  It  has  power 
to  renovate  and  purify  the  whole  world.  It  will  yet 
revolutionize  and  remodel  every  human  system  and 
conform  the  whole  to  truth. 

The  extent  of  its  power  may  be  seen  in  the  history 
of  the  primitive  Church.  Were  we  to  trace  out  its 
effects  there,  we  should  see  it  conquering  the  noble 
and  ignoble,  the  bond  and  free,  and  people  of  every 
nation  and  clime,  and  even  securing  a  foothold  in 
Caesar's  household  ;  or  we  might  behold  it  spreading 
in  every  direction  in  spite  of  all  opposition,  but  it 
would  be  needless,  for  wrhen  it  is  understood  it  has 
power  to  subdue  a  single  heart — when  we  have  wit- 
nessed this  result — we  shall  be  willing  to  ascribe  to  it 
all  power.  Behold  the  proud,  haughty  man,  with 
nerves  of  steel  and  muscles  of  iron,  whose  brow  is 
brass,  and  whose  heart's  tender  pulsations,  to  all  ap- 
pearance, ceased  with  his  childhood,  or  have  since 
only  responded  to  the  report  of  the  pistol  and  the 


108  PHILOSOPHY    OF    REFORM. 

gurgling  blood  !  With  fear  he  has  ever  been  a  stran- 
ger, and  never  has  held  a  parley  with  a  guilty  con- 
science. Watch  him  narrowly  as  you  exhibit  to  him 
the  Cross.  Lead  him  into  the  garden,  the  scene  of 
Christ's  passion,  and  you  will  not  fail  to  see  him 
gnash  with  his  teeth  as  he  is  made  to  understand  its 
nature.  Let  him  witness  the  scourging  of  Christ,  he 
rejoices  in  the  mockery  of  his  enemies.  When  he 
beholds  him  exhibited  by  Peter  to  the  multitude, 
crowned  with  thorns,  bowed  down  in  sorrow  and  sad- 
ness, swooning  under  his  own  cross,  the  spirit  of  a 
demon  seems  to  take  possession  of  him  ;  but  when  he 
views  him  nailed  to  the  accursed  tree  bleeding  and 
dying,  or  in  his  grave  with  the  stone  rolled  away,  he 
will  tremble  with  fear.  Take  this  same  man  by  the 
hand,  and  introduce  to  him  a  risen  Saviour,  his  atten- 
tion is  gained,  his  eye  is  fixed,  while  he  listens  to  his 
instructions.  His  bosom  begins  to  swell  in  anguish, 
the  tear  starts  in  his  eye,  and  proud  and  wicked  as  is 
his  heart,  he  is  subdued.  He  becomes  like  a  little 
child,  affectionate,  confiding  and  obedient.  To  what 
extent,  therefore,  does  not  the  power  of  God,  as  ex- 
hibited in  the  Cross,  extend.     Is  it  not  without  limit? 

Having  examined  the  moral  power  of  the  Cross,  let 
us  examine  its  power  to  reform  and  remodel  the  va- 
rious systems  of  the  world,  and  elevate  the  race  to  its 
destined  position  in  the  scale  of  being. 

During  all  time,  the  world  has  been  devising  plans 
and  systems  to  develop  man,  and  thus  elevate  him 
in  his  rank  ;  to  better  his  condition  here,  and  to  pre- 
pare him  for  a  blessed  immortality.  A  desire  for  the 
improvement  and  development  of  our  minds  is  natu- 
ral. This  will  account  for  the  universal  restlessness 
of  mankind.     They  are  ever  reaching  out  after  some- 


^        or  TH« 

EMBODIMENT    AND    CONSERVAT1V l£  ttflliT'  JuR  S  I 

thing.     The  majority,  pnli.ips,  know  iN^^jfttrt¥\jn  >^ 
seek;  but  now  and   thru   an   individual  siicYv. 
developing  atrutli,  and,  when  lie  exhibits  tin   turn  <>i 
his  labors,  all  men  pronounce  it  good,  and  declare  it 
to  be  just  what  they  had  sought,  and  wondering  at  its 
simplicity  receive  it,  reckoning  it  an  advance  in  morals, 
education,  politics,  or  something,  as  the  case  may  be. 
They  soon  come  to  regard  themselves  at  the  height 
of  perfection,  and  those  who  lived  before  them  as  fan- 
atics and  fools 

Were  the  history  of  man  studied,  it  would  be  found 
that  success  has  attended  his  labors  in  a  regular  in- 
creased improvement  of  both  the  external  and  internal 
being.  Be  this  as  it  may,  still,  granting  that  in  every 
system  and  plan  for  the  benefit  of  man,  some  good 
has  been  accomplished,  it  by  no  means  follows  that 
any  human-devised  scheme  will  be  able  to  restore  the 
world  to  its  pristine  state  of  innocence  and  truth.  It 
may  yet  be  acknowledged  that  there  is  an  invisible, 
silent,  but  omnipotent  principle  established  in  the 
world  which  preserves  it  from  immediate  decay,  and 
will  eventually  work  its  thorough  reformation. 

How  will  the  philosophy  of  the  ancients  in  its  re- 
formatory character  compare  with  the  Cross  of  Christ  1 
There  is  not  a  single  system  but  we  now  see  to  be 
false,  and  as  such  reject  it.  That  of  Plato  was  pro- 
bably the  most  perfect,  yet  his  doctrines  rest  on  the 
most  slender  foundations,  and  are  exceedingly  ob- 
scure. Not  only  this,  but  he  represented  the  Supreme 
Being  as  destitute  of  omnipotence,  omnipresence  and 
omniscience.  The  extent  of  his  researches  was,  to 
lead  him  to  conclude  that  the  world  is  governed  by  an 
independent,  powerful  and  intelligent  God,  and  to 
instruct  it  into  what  we  should  fear,  and  what  we 


HO  PHILOSOPHY    OF    REFORM. 

should  hope  for,  from  death.  This  was  an  advance 
on  any  other  system  of  philosophy  of  that  age.  This 
system,  revived  and  modified  at  various  times,  for 
centuries  continued  to  be  the  most  prominent.  Now 
the  character  of  the  God  of  any  system  of  philosophy 
or  religion  is  the  scale  by  which  its  purity  and  perfec- 
tion may  be  ascertained  with  unerring  certainty, 
Water  cannot  rise  higher  than  its  fountain,  no  more 
can  the  followers  of  Plato,  expect  to  arise  higher  than 
the  morals  he  taught  in  his  system — and  which  are 
legitimate  from  the  character  of  his  God — can  elevate 
them.  A  world,  therefore,  reformed  by  such  a  sys- 
tem, or  elevated  to  that  position,  would  be  sunken  in 
vice  and  ignorance  far  below  the  state  of  society  as  it 
exists  at  the  present  day.  The  philosophy  of  the  gos- 
pel is  pure  and  perfect.  Its  standard  of  morality  is 
such,  that,  should  it  be  attained,  it  would  make  the 
world  holy  and  happy.  The  philosophy  of  the  an- 
cients was  powerless  when  it  would  attack  men's 
hearts.  It  could  somewhat  reform  their  external  con- 
dition, but  it  could  not  reach  the  inner  man.  Now, 
every  permanent  and  useful  improvement  has  begun 
in  the  heart  and  worked  itself  outward.  It  must  be 
truth  within  the  man  working  itself  out,  to  remove 
the  errors  and  wrongs  of  society,  as  they  manifest 
themselves  in  our  social,  civil  and  moral  systems.  No 
lasting  reform  of  a  single  error  or  fault  was  ever  ac- 
complished in  any  other  way.  Here,  then,  is  seen 
the  pre-eminence  of  the  Cross  over  every  system  of 
philosophy,  whether  new  or  old.  It  aims  to  plant  in 
the  hearts  of  men  the  seed  that  will  germinate,  spring 
up,  and  bear  fruit.  It  aims  to  purify  the  fountain, 
and  then  every  stream  shall  also  be  pure.  The  phi- 
losophy of  the  world  has  ever  been  to  remove  an  evil 


EMBODIMENT    AND    CONSERVATIVE    POWER.      1  j  \ 

by  correction,  that  of  the  Cross  is  to  uproot  it  by  plant 
ing  a  living  truth  by  its  side. 

What  is  the  wisdom  of  man — his  theories,  views, 
systems  and  measures,  though  skillfully  and  artfully 
laid — when  compared  with  the  wisdom  of  God  as 
exhibited  in  the  Cross,  to  reform  the  world  !  In  fact, 
without  the  influence  of  the  Cross,  man  would  never 
have  been  able  to  devise  a  single  plan  for  this  purpose, 
luit  like  a  hungry  infant,  he  would  have  died  without 
the  ability  to  make  a  single  effort  to  live.  Who  can 
be  so  lost  to  wisdom  and  the  influence  of  truth,  as  to 
suppose  himself  able  to  project  a  plan  to  bring  this 
revolted  world  back  to  obedience?  He  who  would 
undertake  it  must  be  proud  and  self-confident.  He 
may  here  and  there  shed  a  ray  of  borrowed  light  on 
the  pathway  of  some  poor,  lost  traveler,  but  it  is  faint 
and  of  short  duration  ;  while,  on  the  whole,  his  system 
will  sink  the  race  deeper  in  the  pit  of  vice  and  igno- 
rance. Indeed,  with  all  the  light  of  (he  Bible  and 
Church  pouring  around  us,  with  the  path  of  truth  and 
duty  definitely  and  clearly  marked  out,  how  powerless 
is  the  most  skillful  man,  and  how  feeble  are  the  most 
wisely-directed  efforts,  to  regenerate  a  single  heart. 
True,  by  cunning  artifice  some  have  succeeded  in  creat- 
ing great  excitement  on  religious  subjects  for  a  time  ; 
hut  who  has  it  yet  to  learn  that  this  is  infinitely  short 
of  true  reformation?  It  was  produced  by  a  skillful 
appeal  to  the  passions,  which,  when  aroused,  have 
controlled  and  governed  the  multitude ;  but  it  could 
not  be,  from  the  nature  of  the  case,  permanent  and 
regular.  Such  efforts  will  ever  react  upon  themselves, 
and  utterly  destroy  the  very  object  they  seek  to  gain. 
They  are  without  foundation,  and  therefore,  as  soon 


112  PHILOSOPHY    OF    REFORM. 

as  the  gas  is  expended,  they  will  come  down  of  their 
own  weight.  They  are  a  complete  mockery.  They  are 
attempts  to  satisfy  the  immortal  cravings  of  our  natures 
with  fog  and  moonshine  ;  or,  rather,  they  seek  to 
quench  the  flame  by  adding  fuel  to  the  fire.  How  dif- 
ferent the  Cross.  Its  influence  is  natural  and  health- 
ful. It  revolutionizes  our  moral  nature,  and  creates 
us  anew.  It  builds  upon  the  rock.  It  establishes  our 
goings  in  truth,  and  gives  us  vigor,  courage  and  strength. 
Suppose  the  various  moral  enterprises  of  the  day,  in 
which  thousands  of  good  men  are  enlisted,  prove  suc- 
cessful, yet  only  a  few  small  branches  have  been  lopped 
off,  or  a  few  impure  streams  dried  up  ;  the  tree  with 
its  strong  roots  struck  down  deep  into  our  natures,  the 
fountain  sending  forth  its  poisonous  and  hateful  waters, 
are  there  still.  These  are  all  external  reformations, 
good  in  themselves ;  but  what  folly  and  madness  to 
regard  such  efforts  of  sufficient  power  to  reform  the 
world.  As  well  might  we  undertake  to  push  back  the 
winds,  or  smother  the  volcano  with  our  own  hand  ! 
Yet  nearly  all  the  zeal,  sacrifices  and  labor  of  the 
enlightened  portions  of  the  world,  are  expended  in 
prosecuting  these  enterprises.  The  time  is  rapidly 
hastening  when  it  will  be  found  to  be  more  than  folly 
to  exhaust  all  our  strength  here,  though  the  objects 
sought  are  good  and  desirable.  It  will  be  seen  to  be 
like  paying  tithes  of  mint,  anise  and  cummin,  while 
we.  neglect  the  weightier  matters  of  the  law.  The 
mind  of  the  Church  has  been  called  away  from  her 
appropriate  work,  but  she  will  return  and  follow  the 
influence  of  the  Cross,  Compared  with  the  Cross, 
these  efforts  are  like  the  play  of  a  little  child,  com- 
pared with  the  strength  of  Hercules.     We  must  come 


EMBODIMENT    AND    CONSERVATIVE    POWER.      H3 

back  from  our  wanderings  and  follow  the  Cross,  and 
success  will  everywhere  crown  our  efforts. 

Would  universal  education  secure  to  us  nil  the  Mrs. 
sings  of  the  Cross,  and  thus  supersede  its  use  1  Edu- 
cation has  great  power  in  preventing  vice  and  immo- 
rality. An  educated  people  arc  usually  an  orderly 
and  virtuous  people,  obedient  to  rulers,  and  to  all  good 
and  wholesome  requirements.  But  how  long  would 
a  people  remain  educated,  or  how  long  would  it 
require  to  educate  them,  without  first  propagating 
moral  truth'?  Verily,  no  longer  than  a  blind  man  could 
walk  straight,  who  had  hitherto  enjoyed  the  light, 
or  no  longer 'than  the  moon  would  shed  her  borrowed 
light  were  the  sun  to  be  darkened !  The  world  is 
indebted  to  the  introduction  of  the  principle  of  refor- 
mation for  all  the  education  and  civilization  it  enjoys. 
Education  is  but  a  single  shoot  from  this  stately  tree. 
It  is  no  more  to  be  compared  with  the  embodiment  of 
this  principle  in  reforming  the  world,  than  the  waning- 
taper  to  the  rising  sun  in  scattering  the  darkness  of  the 
night.  Besides,  could  we  educate  men  without  reli- 
gion, they  would  be  educated  without  moral  principle ; 
therefore,  we  might  expect  they  would  grow  up  to 
murder  and  destroy  each  other,  rather  than  use  their 
well-developed  strength  for  the  benefit  of  the  race. 
Away  with  the  Cross,  and  the  world  has  lost  its  con- 
servative power,  or  principle  of  preservation.  It 
would  sink  into  irrecoverable  ruin  at  once.  Inasmuch 
as  all  good  and  truth  emanates  from  the  Cross,  to  sub- 
stitute anything  in  its  stead  is  to  put  out  the  sun  and 
grope  in  darkness.  But  might  we  not  expect  that 
educated  men  would  see  alike,  and  find  the  right  path- 
and  pursue  it  1  No  !  not  until  men  are  governed  by 
their  heads  and  not  their  hearts,  and  thereby  change 


114  PHILOSOPHY    OF    REFORM. 

their  very  nature — for  education  does  not  reach  the 
heart,  nor  even  propose  to  ;  and  if  it  did,  it  would  be 
impossible,  for  the  heart  cannot  be  schooled  into  obe- 
dience to  God.  You  cannot  nurse  it  and  bend  it  in 
the  right  direction,  as  a  plant  in  your  garden,  and  thus 
cause  it  to  grow  up  into  a  holy  tree.  This  might  be 
possible  were  we  not  depraved.  But  since  we  are,  our 
very  natures  must  be  changed  before  there  is  any  hope 
of  remaining  permanently  right.  Regeneration  may, 
but  all  other  means  together  cannot,  change  the  heart, 
and  thus  secure  permanent  right  action. 

It  may  be  urged,  that  society  may  be  so  remodeled 
as  to  secure  to  the  world  all  that  is  promised  in  the 
gospel.  A  few  men  have  gone  so  far,  in  these  last 
days,  as  to  propose  to  reform  the  world  by  forming  it 
after  an  approved  model.  They  declare  that  the  Cross 
has  failed  in  securing  its  object — that  the  world  will 
never  realize  from  it  what  it  has  pledged — and,  in  a 
great  show  of  benevolence,  they  have  got  up  a  patent 
regeneration.  Well !  many  such  have  been  invented 
and  abandoned,  to  the  utter  confusion  and  shame  of 
those  who  trusted  them.  When  we  look  upon  the  ten 
thousand  evils  with  which  the  world  is  cursed,  we 
cannot,  as  true  philosophers  and  philanthropists,  but 
mourn  and  lament ;  and,  when  we  cast  about  for  the 
cause,  and  find  that  most  of  these  evils  grew  out  of 
society  as  it  is  at  present  organized,  we  naturally  seek 
a  remedy.  What  more  natural  than  to  imagine  it  to 
be  found  in  reconstructing  the  system  of  society. 
Hence  we  immediately  set  ourselves  to  forming  it  after 
this  or  that  model,  or  upon  these  or  those  principles. 
This  theory  is  rather  beautiful  and  benevolent,  and 
some  of  our  wisest  men  have  subscribed  it.  What 
these  men  promise  is  what  the  gospel  promised  long 


EMBODIMENT    AND    CONSERVATIVE    TOWER.       H5 

ago;  but  if  this  new  invention  succeeds,  it  will  I 
easier  to  gam  the  desifed  object  than  by  following  the 
directions  of  the  Cross.  But  after  wc  have  (raced 
everything  down  to  the  M  big  tortoise, "  what  shall  we 
huild  for  its  foundation?  What  is  the  cause  of  the 
present  peculiar  organization  of  society?  Whence 
and  where  is  the  root  of  the  evil  ?  Where  is  the  poi- 
soned fountain  ?  Now,  the  efforts  of  these  reformers 
will  be  vain,  and  their  task  endless,  even  if  they  have 
good  hope  of  success.  The  real  difficulty  is  where  it 
is  least  imagined.  It  is  in  our  being  governed  by 
wrong  moral  principle.  The  Cross,  and  the  Cross 
alone,  has  power  to  remedy  this.  And  where  this  is 
effected,  society  will  be  organized  anew,  and  the  pres- 
ent evils  will  cease  to  exist. 

Let  us,  for  a  moment,  compare  the  reformatory 
power  of  a  ceremonious  religion  with  that  of  the  Cross. 
In  the  former,  with  which  we  fear  the  world  is  becom- 
ing filled,  we  have  a  body  without  a  soul.  Its  exter- 
nal appearance  is  good.  It  possesses  dignity  and 
stability,  and  while  the  true  gospel  is  preached  which 
is  its  conservative  principle,  it  may  continue  to  flourish, 
hut  when  once  it  has  filled  the  world,  and  is  required 
to  depend  upon  its  own  inherent  strength  to  sustain 
itself,  it -will  become  corrupt,  and  as  a  huge  system 
will  topple  and  fall,  just  as  "  Mother  Church, "  and 
just  as  all  other  similar  one  Catholic  Universal  Church 
systems,  will  be  destroyed.  The  power  of  this  religion 
is  in  its  external,  pompous  and  attractive  power.  All 
its  right  is  borrowed  and  reflected,  for  Christ 'dwells 
not  in  its  temple.  The  heart  is  left  uncultivated,  while 
the  head  and  the  finer  feelings  of  the  soul  are  well 
educated  and  refined.  There  is  no  real  moral  power 
among  such  a  people,  except  what  has  been  transmit- 


116  PHILOSOPHY    OF    REFORM. 

ted  by  the  u  succession,"  which,  judging  from  its  pol- 
luted charms,  must  be  weakness  itself.  The  upholders 
of  this  system  will  realize,  in  time,  that  they  have  been 
shorn  of  their  strength,  and  it  will  be  when  the  greatest 
power  is  needed ;  and  then,  as  formerly,  they  will  strive 
to  substitute  ecclesiastical  power  for  that  which  alone 
can  be  obtained  by  the  indwelling  of  Christ  in  the 
heart.  And,  in  its  turn,  their  reliance  will  prove  to  be 
a  broken  shaft  that  will  pierce  their  vitals. 

The  Cross  is  far  removed  from  pomp,  and  show,  and 
heartless  ceremony.  It  is  the  pure,  simple,  and  naked 
truth,  moving  in  the  stillness  of  eternity,  breaking  up 
the  existing  errors  of  the  world,  and  forming  men  to 
its  own  pattern.  Its  influence  is  exerted  in  quietness 
and  solemnity,  yet  its  strength  is  omnipotent.  Here, 
then,  is  a  reformatory  agent,  or  system,  that  will  se- 
cure its  object ;  one,  therefore,  to  which  we  may  look 
with  confidence  to  correct  all  the  errors  and  abuses  of 
any  time,  and  we  shall  not  look  in  vain. 

We  are  now  prepared  to  examine  the  power  of  the 
Cross  to  reform  the  governments  and  literature  of  the 
world,  and  to  purify  the  Church,  and  give  it  triumph 
in  the  earth. 

What  is  its  influence  in  remodeling  the  governments 
of  the  world  1  Human  governments  are  ordained  of 
God.  Their  necessity  is  founded  in  our  nature.  They 
will  therefore  exist  while  time  lasts.  They  are  a 
part  of  the  moral  government  of  God,  or  a  part  of  that 
stupendous  system  by  which  God  secures  his  ultimate 
end  in  creation.  God,  therefore,  has  great  regard  for 
them.  He  watches  them  with  a  jealous  care.  Not 
unfrequently,  however,  their  character  is  such  he  can- 
not approbate,  still  he  has  power  and  wisdom  to  over- 
rule them,  and  make  them  subservient  to  his  interest. 


KMHODIMKNT    AM>    I'ONSKin  ATIVi;     POWER.       JJ7 

We  are  told  that  the  time  shall  come,  when  kings  shall 
be  nursing  fathers  and  queens  nursing  mothers  to  the 
Church.  That  is,  the  time  will  come  when  all  kings 
ami  rulers  shall  gOTern  then  subjects  in  righteousness; 
when,  as  rulers,  they  shall  apply  the  great  principles 
of  benevolence  and  love  to  everything  in  their  king- 
doms, or  when  they  shall  rest  on  this  foundation,  and 
be  modeled  after  (lie  (ruth.  Far,  very  far  indeed,  are  the 
nations  of  the  earth  from  possessing  this  character,  at  tin 
present  day.  We  know  of  no  other  influence  that  can 
reform  or  remodel,  or,  if  need  be,  revolutionize  these 
nations,  and  all  this  safely,  but  that  of  the  Cross.  Just 
so  far  as  men,  or  a  people,  become  imbued  with  the 
principles  of  truth,  they  will  carry  them  out  in  their 
rivil  capacity.  The  work  that  is  wrought  in  the 
heart  will  work  its  way  outward,  so  that  the  govern- 
ment of  the  people  that  are  truly  moral  will  partake 
of  the  nature  of  true  religion.  In  fact,  the  American 
government — that  of  any  people — is  modeled  after 
their  religious  system,  and  their  religion  after  the  cha- 
racter of  their  God,  so  that  their  government  will  ne- 
cessarily be  the  great  principles  by  which  their  God  is 
governed,  applied  to  their  civil  affairs.  The  form  of 
their  institutions  will  be  such  as  to  give  full  play  to 
these  principles;  therefoie,  with  the  knowledge  of  the 
God  of  any  people,  we  can  judge,  with  unerring  cer- 
tainty, what  will  be  the  form  of  their  civil  government. 
You  may  gather  together  the  wisdom  of  the  world, 
and  search  the  records  of  all  times  for  facts  and  models 
with  which  you  may  create  a  perfect  civil  government, 
and,  in  proportion  as  this  object  is  gained,  it  will  be 
seen  that  you  have  adopted  a  system  whose  rules  and 
regulations  are  made  by  the  application  of  the  funda- 
mental principles  of  the  gospel  to  the  particular  state 


118  PHILOSOPHY    OF   REFORM. 

of  things.  Now,  what  we  term  the  laws  of  the  gospel, 
or  its  precepts,  are  the  practical  application  of  the  great 
principle  of  benevolence  to  our  several  relations,  situa- 
tions and  circumstances  in  life.  Christ  has  exhibited 
these  truths  in  his  life.  He  taught  us  how  we  should 
conduct  ourselves  in  such  and  such  situations  and 
relations.  That  is,  he  deduced  our  duty,  in  many 
particulars,  from  the  great  fundamental  principle  of 
truth.  We  are  to  apply  this  principle  where  he  haa 
not,  and  thus  learn  our  duty  in  all  things,  not  only  in 
our  private  and  social  life,  but  as  citizens  and  as  na- 
tions. Nations,  in  the  formation  of  all  their  laws,  regu- 
lations and  policy,  are  to  adopt  a  similar  plan.  They 
are  to  be  such  as  shall  produce  public  and  private  vir- 
tue, and  secure  the  greatest  amount  of  good  to  the 
people.  This  would  be  a  righteous  government,  and 
to  become  such,  the  whole  would  need  to  be  reformed, 
and  we  fear  the  majority  revolutionized.  There  is  no 
power  but  that  of  the  Cross  can  do  this.  Fill  the  peo- 
ple's hearts  with  the  truth,  and  they  will  have  a  right- 
eous government,  and  it  is  not  in  the  power  of  inter- 
ested leaders  and  tyrants  to  prevent  them.  Erect  the 
Cross  amid  a  people,  and  its  influence  is  at  once  felt, 
in  conforming  them  to  the  truth.  Reject  or  remove  it, 
and  the  nation  will  forget  God,  reject  his  authority, 
and  rush  into  anarchy  and  destruction. 

This  influence  has  no  less  power  in  purifying  our 
literature.  No  one  will  doubt  that  the  literature  of  any 
people  has3  next  to  their  religion,  the  greatest  influence 
upon  them.  There  is  among  every  people  a  few  prom- 
inent characteristics  that  distinguish  them  from  all 
others.  In  former  times,  more  than  at  present,  a  single 
characteristic  seemed  to  embody  every  other,  and  thus 
the  people  stood  out  before  the  world,  as  under  the  di- 


AND    CONSERVATIVE    POWER.       H9 

rcction  and  influence  of  a  single  idea.  Their  litera- 
ture, their  theology,  and  every  system  which  time  has 
preserved  of  their  works,  appears  to  be  cast  in  the 
HUM  mould.  In  our  own  time,  and  amid  our  own 
people,  ;iml,  indeed,  among  most  of  the  nations  of 
Europe,  n  is  different.  It  cannot  be  said  that  the 
American  people  are  under  the  influence  of  a  single 
idea,  that  gives  shape  and  direction  to  all  we  do  and 
ail  we  write.  Still  there  are  a  few  prominent  charac- 
teristics which  distinguish  us  from  all  other  nations. 
It  is  true  of  us,  and  of  England  and  Germany,  as  it 
has  ever  been  of  every  people,  that  our  literature  is  of 
a  striking  national  character,  and,  though  not  moulded 
after  a  single  pattern,  as  is  the  latter,  still  its  variety  is 
regular,  and  is  sure  to  partake  of  our  national  pecu- 
liarities. 

Nor  has  all  this  come  by  chance.  We  have  been 
made  what  we  are  as  nations  by  a  natural  process. 
The  like  causes,  operating  under  the  same  circum- 
stances, would  produce  precisely  similar  people.  We 
have  not  time  to  enumerate  the  various  and  distinct 
causes  that  have  made  us  Americans  what  we  are,  or 
that  have  made  the  English,  or  the  Germans,  or  the 
French,  what  they  are,  nor  need  we,  for  it  may  be 
sufficient.to  say,  that  all  the  causes  are  summed  up  in 
their  religion,  that  is,  as  is  their  religion,  so  is  their 
character,  and  as  is  their  character,  so  is  their  litera- 
ture. It  may  also  be  important  to  notice,  that  nothing 
is  more  common  than  for  us  to  be  deceived  in  respect 
to  our  real  character.  We  must  be  thoroughly  tried 
before  we  can  know  ourselves — the  same  is  true  of  na- 
tions. A  people  may  imagine  themselves  organized 
upon  a  righteous  foundation,  but  how  easy  for  them  to 
give  too  great  prominence  to  one  principle,  and  hold 
6 


120  PHILOSOPHY    OF    REFORM. 

another  in  too  little  estimation.  When  this  is  the  case, 
and  they  begin  to  put  their  machinery  in  motion,  the 
difficulty  is  apparent.  Now,  the  action  of  any  people 
or  nation — every  plan  and  movement — tends  to  bring 
out  their  character,  and,  if  they  are  built  upon  the 
truth,  they  will  stand,  and  every  motion  will  only  re- 
sult in  strengthening  the  edifice ;  but  if  not,  the  oppo- 
site will  be  the  effect. 

The  literature  of  a  people  has  more  influence  in  de- 
veloping the  heart,  or  the  principles  of  life,  than  any 
other  one  thing,  for  it  is  their  spread-out  heart — the 
exhibition  of  the  inner  man.  Literature  is  the  history 
of  man's  intellect,  or  the  record  of  what  he  thinks, 
speaks  and  does. 

The  mind,  as  well  as  the  tongue,  has  its  tastes,  its 
likes  and  its  dislikes.  And  among  a  people  where 
freedom  is  allowed  in  all  things  almost  to  excess,  as 
soon  as  the  demand  is  made  known  for  a  particular 
kind  of  intellectual  food,  it  will  be  met.  The  appetite 
will  be  fed,  and  the  desire  for  food  increased — which,  if 
it  is  not  natural,  will  soon  derange  the  entire  digestive 
organs,  and  the  individual  will  become  weak  and  im- 
becile, and  lean  like  Pharaoh's  lean  kine. 

Here,  then,  we  have  a  sure  means  of  testing  the  char- 
acter of  any  people.  It  is  by  studying  what  they 
write,  for  they  are  sure  to  write  what  will  be  read,  or 
what  will  please  the  taste,  and  their  character  is  as 
their  taste. 

The  prominent  characteristics  of  the  present  age 
are,  restlessness  and  a  desire  for  intellectual  food  of  a 
trashy  and  ephemeral  nature.  These  are  the  pre- 
vailing features  of  almost  every  country.  True,  there 
is  a  desire  for  investigation  and  for  solid  and  enduring 
truths  manifest  in  some  portions  of  the  world,  to  some 


EMBODIMENT    AND    CONSERVATIVE    POWER.      J21 

extent;  hut  what  country*  where  the  ptopk  road  at 

all,  is  not  flooded  with  a  weak,  childish  and  love-sick 
iture.  In  our  own  count!  y  our  mails  and  thorough- 
fares groan  under  this  accumulated  mass  of  trash,  called 
"polite  literature,"  hut  sometimes  more  appropi  lately 
"light  literature,"  that  is  carried  into  every  nook  and 
corner  of  the  la  ml  to  satisfy  the  vitiated  and  morbid 
appetite  of  the  people.  Here  is  the  great  cause  of  our 
noted  excitable  character.  We  are  destined,  under 
this  influence,  to  become  more  and  more  sensitive, 
Dtttil,  like  a  romantic  sentimentalist,  we  shall  fear  our 
own  shadow  and  tremble  at  the  flutter  of  a  leaf. 

What  shall  counteract  the  growing  evil,  and  purify 
and  elevate  the  character  of  our  literature  1  Where 
is  the  remedy  that  shall  purge  out  and  tone  up  the 
moral  system,  and  thus  restore  life  and  health  to  every 
society?  Various  expedients  have  been,  and  still  may 
be,  resorted  to,  but  we  regard  the  Cross  as  the  only 
true  remedy.  Its  effect  is  to  remove  the  cause,  which 
is  our  depraved  appetite,  and  create  a  solid,  healthful 
state  of  mind,  thereby  removing  all  impurities,  and 
feeding  it  with  its  simple,  natural  aliment,  the  truth.  As 
•  fVensive  as  it  may  be  to  many  minds,  no  other  remedy 
will  free  the  world  of  the  evil  under  consideration  but 
preaching  Christ  and  him  crucified. 

In  concluding  this  chapter,  let  us  contemplate  the 
power  of  the  Cross  to  purify  the  Church,  and  make  it 
a  people  that  shall  be  beautiful  and  comely,  yet  terri- 
ble as  an  army  with  banners.  The  Church  every- 
where, and  in  every  country,  is  rapidly  tending  to  form- 
alism. The  causes  for  this  lamentable  state  of  things 
have  been  in  operation  for  years.  The  feverish  and 
excitable  state  of  the  public  mind,  together  with  the 
peculiar  mode  that  has  been  adopted  in  conducting 


122  PHILOSOPHY    OF    REFORM. 

reformatory  efforts,  and  extending  the  influence  and 
dominion  of  the  Redeemer's  kingdom,  have  tended 
more  to  give  activity  to  these  causes  than  they  would 
have  otherwise  possessed.  Of  course  we  speak  of 
the  Church  as  she  is  exhibited  in  the  prominent 
characteristics  of  the  prevailing  sects  of  the  day.  As 
thus  considered,  she  is  destitute  of  many  of  the  char- 
acteristics of  the  same  people  in  primitive  times.  Her 
simplicity  has  waned,  her  sincere  devotion  to  her  mas- 
ter, her  former  confidence  and  self-denial,  and  her  spirit 
of  entire  consecration,  is  now  scarcely  perceptible. 
Where  is  that  boldness  and  fearlessness  in  rebuking 
sin,  that  tenderness  and  compassion  in  seeking  to  save 
the  perishing,  and  that  heavenly-mindedness  that  was 
once  so  conspicuous  1  When  this  question  is  urged, 
we  are  pointed  to  her  numbers,  and  wealth,  and  worldly 
influence ;  but  are  these  sure  indications  of  true  pros- 
perity? Did  not  the  Church  of  Rome  enjoy  these 
outward  indications  of  life  in  the  most  perfect  degree, 
when  she  was  corrupt  to  the  very  core  1  We  fear  the 
Church  is  growing  worse  and  worse.  We  trust  she  is 
not  past  recovery,  but  she  soon  will  be  unless  her 
disease  is  checked. 

The  leaders  of  Israel  see  this  and  deplore  it.  Vari- 
ous expedients  have  been  resorted  to  for  the  removal 
of  the  evil.  Each  sect  is  beginning  to  examine  the 
old  landmarks.  Their  founders  are  having  their  resur- 
rection. The  Fathers  are  exhumed,  and  examined 
on  every  point  of  faith.  "  What  say  the  Fathers  " — 
meaning  those  who  lived  within  a  few  centuries  of  the 
apostles — is  the  almost  universal  cry.  But  few  are  yet 
disposed  to  consult  the  Grandfathers,  the  Apostles,  and 
our  Grandfathers'  Leader,  the  Son  of  the  Highest !  All 
these  efforts  are  fruitless.     We  may  revive  the  old  lit- 


KMiionaaEOT    AN',)    CONSERVATIVE    POWEt.       \>:\ 

urgies,  and  readopt  the  old  confessions  of  faith,  and 
cling  to  them,  but  it  is  too  %\  idtty  it  is  tin*  grasp  of 
death.  We  have  supposed  we  could  secure  the  stabil- 
ity and  regularity  that  is  so  much  desired,  since  we 
have  been  jostled  from  our  former  firm  position,  by 
reinstating  the  never-changing  and  constant  systems  of 
a  century  ago ;  but  the  world  has  outgrown  those  sys- 
tems, and  thrown  them  away.  It  has  no  more  use  for 
them ;  but  could  they  be  adopted,  it  would  only  be 
iriving  us  a  dead  peace  not  a  live  one.  Still  men  will 
continue  to  sew  fig-leaves  together  to  cover  their  naked- 
ness, to  the  end  of  time. 

When  shall  all  these  delusive  notions  be  abandoned, 
and  the  universal  cry  be  heard  for  the  Bible  and  the 
Cross?  When  will  men  be  rational,  and  seek  the 
proper  remedy,  although  it  should  result  in  the  aban- 
donment of  their  former  systems'?  When  will  the 
Church  come  back  to  the  Cross,  and  follow  that  and 
be  filled  with  its  influence  1  There  is  help  in  no  other 
quarter.  This  prescription  must  be  taken,  or  she  must 
die  and  be  scattered.  What  simplicity,  humility, 
moral  beauty,  dignity  and  strength,  will  characterize 
the  Church,  when  she  shall  become  conformed  to  the 
truth  as  it  is  exhibited  in  the  Cross. 


CHAPTER  VI. 


THE    LAWS    OF    REFORMATION. 

The  reformation  in  an  active  state — The  unity  of  reformation — Truth 
once  developed  is  never  lost — Truth  not  discovered  by  a  direct  effort — 
The  progress  is  not  visibly  regular — A  forthcoming  event  casts  its  sha- 
dow before  it — Truth  is  first  wrought  out  in  men's  hearts — Old  systems 
never  abandoned  until  outgrown  or  worn  out— Principles  not  pushed  to 
conclusions  at  once. 

Have  you  ever  been  through  a  cotton  factory — one 
of  those  extensive  establishments  for  converting  the 
"  raw  material  "  into  "shirtings,"  "  sheetings"  and 
"  elegant  prints  V  Examine  it,  from  the  throne  of 
the  chief  clerk,  from  whom  is  issued  the  imperative 
,"  do  this"  or  "  that,"  to  the  door  through  which  is 
passed  the  solidly-pressed  "  bale,"  and  witness  the 
ten  thousand  buzzing  spindles,  flying  looms,  and  the 
scores  of  busy  hands,  each  having  its  apportioned 
work,  each  process  of  labor  being  all-important  in  se- 
curing the  ultimate  design,  and  the  work  affecting,  to 
some  extent,  every  people  of  the  earth,  from  the  poor 
slave  who  grows  the  cotton  in  the  field,  to  the  king 
on  his  throne,  who  is  dressed  in  the  fine,  bleached 
fabric.  All  this  vast  machinery  is  geared  to  a  single 
shaft  that  is  turned  by  water  or  steam  power.  Here 
you  have  a  good  illustration  of  the  design  and  move- 
ments of  God  in  his  moral  government. 

He  has  purposed  the  world's  thorough  reformation, 
adopted  a  plan  to  secure  it,  and  put  the  whole  ma- 
chinery in  operation,  and  now  he  sits  upon  his  throne 


THE    LAWS    OF    REFOJIMATION.  J26 

watching,  with  infinite  interest,  the  progress  of  events, 
and  ruling  and  overruling  the  whole  to  secure  to  him- 
self lus  ultimate  design  in  creation.  Every  depart- 
ment of  life,  every  event  however  minute,  every  fact, 
and  all  lahor,  whether  it  be  of  the  head,  heart,  or 
hand,  is  perfectly  interlocked,  and  each  part  necessary 
and  important  in  securing  the  great  object;  and  the 
whole  is  regulated  and  directed  by  an  all-wise  Provi- 
dence in  developing  and  establishing  the  principle  al- 
ready described. 

The  operation  of  every  well-adjusted  plan  or  scheme 
is  regular  and  harmonious.  Systems  of  this  character 
are  made  in  strict  conformity  with  previouly-esta- 
blished  truth.  These  truths  are  M  fixed  facts,"  and 
are  invariably  productive  of  the  same  results.  There- 
fore, the  whole  plan  is  founded  upon  and  moved  by 
immutable  laws.  These  laws,  if  in  no  other  way, 
may  be  ascertained  by  collecting  and  arranging  the 
facts  that  are  produced  by  its  movement,  and  tracing 
them  to  their  source. 

We  mean  by  the  laws  of  reformation  those  rules 
by  which  that  system  is  conducted,  which  has  been 
organized  to  fully  develop  the  truth  embodied  in  the 
Cross,  and  elevate  the  race  to  its  destined  position. 

Our  theory  is  this,  viz.,  we  are  dependent  on  the 
development  of  the  moral  portion  of  our  being  for  the 
instruction  and  elevation  of  the  intellectual,  social 
and  civil ;  and  any  degree  of  advancement  in  either  of 
these  departments,  or  in  any  one  of  their  sub-depart- 
ments, has  been  produced  by  the  influence  of  Christi- 
anity, unseen,  perhaps,  by  the  human  eye,  and  un- 
heard and  unfelt  except  by  the  inner  man. 

In  order  to  secure  the  full  and  perfect  development 
of  man,  we  must  reduce  this  theory  of  reformation  to 


126  PHILOSOPHY    OF    REFORM. 

practice,  by  a  reference  to  the  history  of  the  world,  so 
that  no  one  need  mistake,  and  that  any  one  may  have 
a  pattern  or  model  for  conducting  a  minor  or  subordi- 
nate reformation  with  the  fullest  confidence  of  ulti- 
mate success. 

When  these  laws  are  once  revealed  and  fully  un- 
derstood, we  may  look  for  the  needed  change  in  most 
of  our  systems  for  the  elevation  of  man.  We  know 
not  why  man,  and  the  true  method  for  his  full  devel- 
opment, may  not  be  practically  understood,  as  well 
as  the  science  of  chemistry  so  as  to  be  made  available 
to  the  farmer  in  raising  his  crops,  or  of  magnetism  so 
as  to  transmit  our  thoughts  to  distant  portions  of  the 
land  on  the  lightning's  wing.  This  knowledge  is 
within  our  reach,  and  it  will  be  secured.  Man's  true 
worth  and  real  greatness  will  yet  be  known.  The 
world  will  not  always  be  suffered  to  spend  all  its  time 
and  energies  in  behalf  of  the  outward  man.  This  will 
be  the  squirrel's  labor  through  time,  and  not  man's. 
When  the  world  is  filled  with  men,  we  shall  cease 
playing  with  these  glittering  toys,  and  set  ourselves 
to  the  noble  work  of  educating  the  inner  being.  Pet- 
ted and  spoiled  children,  however,  are  not  easily 
taught,  and  they  are  the  last  to  feel  the  need  of  re- 
formation. 

We  have  defined  the  principle  of  reformation  to  be 
truth.  The  moral  principle  of  truth  was  lost  to  the 
world  in  the  fall.  This  would  result  in  producing 
ignorance  and  vice  to  that  extent  as  to  render  a  know- 
ledge of  any  other  truth  impossible.  The  introduc- 
tion and  revelation  of  this  principle  was  the  com- 
mencement of  the  reformation.  That  it  may  be  seen 
how  this  principle  is  able  to  produce  wonderful  com- 
motions  and   great   results,  it  will   be   necessary   to 


THE    LAWS    01     REFORMATIO!!.  127 

illustrate  the  fan  dial  truth  is  the  same  in  all  things , 
which,  of  course,  will  prove  thai  there  is  a  strong 
atlinily  and  sympath)  in  all  truth,  so  that  with  the 
introduction  of  any  one  truth,  (  \<  iv  oilier  will  be 
awakened  and  gather  there,  and  error  will  be  removed, 
though  with  great  reluctance. 

What  is  truth  ?  It  is  the  strangest,  most  wonderful, 
most  enduring,  and,  in  fact,  the  only  enduring  exist- 
ence. It  had  its  beginning  with  God,  and  never 
changes.  It  is  a  kind  of  invisible,  ethereal  reality, 
pervading  all  things,  and  without  which  ;io-thing  is 
or  ever  can  be.  When  the  heavens  and  the  earth 
were  made,  and  man  was  formed,  he  received  a  rule 
of  moral  action  which  would  best  serve  to  secure  the 
design  of  his  Maker  who  had  given  being  or  existence 
\o  it.  God,  then,  is  the  Great  Reality  from  whom 
has  emanated  all  truth,  and  to  whom  everything 
should  be  conformed.  What  is  then  conformed  to 
Him  is  truth,  and  nothing  else  can  long  endure,  for 
every  un-truth  must  be  destroyed  so  sure  as  there  is 
power  in  omnipotence. 

The  only  really  existing  anything  is  truth,  for 
what  we  call  false,  wrong,  or  error  is  but  the  effect  of 
the  operation  of  truth.  It  is  truth  pushing  its  way 
along  toward  a  wrong  object,  or  toward  a  lawful  ob- 
ject in  a  wrong  way.  That  ship,  for  instance,  that 
capsizes  in  every  breeze,  or  drifts  at  the  mercy  of 
every  storm,  has  too  little  ballast,  or  too  much  sail,  or 
the  rudder  is  in  the  wrong  place.  It  is  a  whole  ship, 
and  if  you  watch  her  movements  you  will  say,  "  There  ! 
she  has  capsized,  and  her  builders  might  have  known 
all  this  ;  she  is  built  falsely,  and  she  runs  falsely,  just 
as  no  ship  should  run,  but  just  as  every  similarly- 
built  and  managed  ship  will  run."  But  in  every 
6# 


128  PHILOSOPHY    OF    REFORM. 

movement,  in  all  her  tossing  and  plunging,  she  con- 
forms to  fixed  laws— to  truth.  Now,  this  ship  was 
built,  not  in  conformity  with  those  laws  by  which 
every  ship  must  be  to  sail  well,  but  who  will  say 
she  was  built  in  conformity  with  no  law,  or  no  truth  1 

We  cannot  imagine  the  existence  of  anything  where 
there  is  no  truth.  Powder  has  no  affinity  for  fire, 
therefore  they  cannot  be  mingled  together.  When 
they  do  meet,  the  union  is  an  wn-truth,  and  the  explo- 
sion, which  is  the  natural  consequent,  is  the  groan  or 
complaint  of  nature,  caused  by  this  attempt  to  pro- 
duce a  nothing.  You  may  build  your  wall  of.  that 
material  and  in  that  manner  that  will  make  it  sure 
it  will  soon  fall  down,  and  all  this  according  to  law, 
but  by  a  violation  of  the  law  to  which,  had  you  con- 
formed, your  wall  would  have  stood  strong.  This 
wall  is  only  a  part  of  a  true  one,  and  that  which  it 
wants  to  render  it  perfectly  conformed  to  the  law  of 
good  walls,  makes  it  lack  so  much  of  a  perfect  wall, 
and  is  not  that  part  a  nothing  ;  if  it  be  something,  de- 
fine and  describe  it,  so  that  we  may  see  and  handle 
it.  A  wrong  thing,  as  we  use  t,he  term,  is  a  true 
thing — in  fact,  it  is  only  wrong  relatively.  Any  other 
kind  of  an  untruth,  in  the  physical  world  at  least,  is  a 
contradiction — a  nothing. 

The  moral  laws  are  made  in  reference  to  our  moral 
being,  to  conform  it  to  truth.  We  are  of  that  nature 
as  to  be  able  to  see  them,  and  with  faculties  to  com- 
pel obedience  to  them.  We  may,  however,  violate 
these  laws,  and,  from  the  fact  that  we  do  not  act  from 
necessity,  as  the  water  of  every  spring  seeks  the  ocean, 
we  are  held  responsible  to  Him  who  created  them. 
Yet,  even  in  moral  things,  who  will  contend  that  a 
false  or  a  wrong  act  is  just  no  act  at  all  1     Who  will 


THE    LAWS    OF    REFORMATION.  |f| 

thai  the  art  <>t  the  mind  which  we  mil  a  violation 
of  1 1  ui  1 1  is  not  an  act  strictly  conformed  to  truth,  if  not 
to  the  truth  ?  The  mind  cannot  act  in  view  of  not  I  ■  mi: 
any  more  than  you  can  lift  a  weight  when  there  is 
none  to  be  lifted.  If  the  acts  of  the  mind  are  sinful^ 
they  are  not  the  less  acts.  The  same  faculties  of  the 
mind  were  called  into  exercise  as  would  have  been 
had  the  choice  been  a  holy  one,  and  something  was 
chosen,  and  chosen  for  a  certain  reason.  Suppose  the 
ultimate  intention  was  such  as  to  make  the  act  un- 
holy, it  was  none  the  less  an  ultimate  intention ; 
hence,  a  sinful  act  is  an  act,  and  a  real  one,  after  all. 
All  other  worlds  but  our  own,  and  even  this  in 
many  respects,  for  aught  we  know,  exist  as  they 
were  created.  Their  motion,  velocity,  circuit,  and 
everything  concerning  them,  is  in  strict  conformity  to 
truth.  This  will  one  day  be  true  of  the  moral  world. 
God  has  purposed  to  bring  it  back  into  its  right  posi- 
tion in  his  government,  and  been  at  vast  expense  to 
bring  his  plan  into  operation  to  secure  it,  and  he  will 
not  cease  from  his  undertaking  until  all  the  jarring 
elements  of  human  society  are  harmonized  with  the 
truth.  Every  man  will  yet  be  brought  to  act  in  the 
manner  his  conscience  and  his  God  shall  approve. 
Everything  is  tending  to  this  end,  and  as  man's  nature 
and  wants  are  the  same,  the  time  will  come  when  the 
entire  race  will  occupy  the  same  exalted  level,  be 
governed  by  the  same  laws,  and  seek  the  same  object. 
In  all  the  overturning  and  changing,  God  is  managing 
to  accomplish  this  result.  Suppose  all  these  various 
movements,  all  this  commotion  and  changing,  is 
caused  by  fixed  laws,  it  is  none  the  less  God  who 
governs*  It  is  all  the  same  whether  he  is,  as  it  were,  re- 
mote, or  in  the  world's  midst,  bringing  about  every 


230  PHILOSOPHY    OF    REFORM. 

change  by  his  own  direct  agency.  He  has  established 
the  laws,  and  put  a  plan  in  operation,  and  he  watches 
its  working  with  infinite  delight,  from  the  fact  that  in 
every  movement  there  is  an  increase  of  truth  in  the 
world. 

It  is  an  interesting  fact,  that  in  proportion  to  the 
increase  of  moral  truth,  or  of  pure  religion,  in  the 
world,  all  other  truth  in  which  man  is  interested  has 
been  increased.  As  man  has  become  conformed  to 
the  image  of  his  Maker,  in  the  same  proportion  has  he 
discovered  and  conformed  to  the  truth  in  his  civil  capa- 
city. He  has  also,  in  the  same  proportion,  made  ad- 
vancement in  science  and  literature,  and,  indeed,  in 
all  truth  he  may  ever  know  in  his  present  existence. 
Not  that  the  one  has  kept  pace  with  the  other,  but 
when  religion  has  flourished  it  has  waked  up  the 
world  to  the  examination  of  every  other  subject ;  that 
is,  every  reformation  in  what  we  may  call  religion 
has  effected  a  reformation  in  men's  views  and  ideas  of 
everything  else. 

The  history  of  civilization,  of  any  science,  indeed 
of  all  literature,  is  but  the  history  of  religion  ;  for  the 
latter,  like  the  sun,  lights  up  every  hitherto  dark  cor- 
ner and  deep  recess,  and  when  they  are  thus  lighted, 
the  rich  gems  and  pearls  of  the  former  are  found  and 
picked  up,  and  not  unfrequently  wove  into  a  wreath 
to  encircle  the  brow  of  some  inventor  or  student  who  has 
only  given  articulation  to  what  had  existed  through  all 
time,  though  in  silence — when,  in  fact,  the  honor  be- 
longs to  the  Creator  of  all  things.  The  literature  of 
any  time  is  so  interlocked  and  interwoven  with  the 
religion  of  that  time,  that  they  can  no  more  be  sepa- 
rated than  Gan  the  life  of  a  public  man  from  the  events 
of  the  time  in  which  he  lives.     It  is  the  same  with 


THE    LAWS    OF    H  l  FORMATION.  \;\\ 

■au\  other  important  truUi*  Therefore,  wett  m  possible 
to  enlighten  an  entirely  ignorant  mind  in  respect  to  any 
one  single  truth  of  great  importance,  it  would  have 
the  effect  to  awaken  il  from  its  sleep,  scatter  the  dark- 
ness, ami  ultimately  enlighten  the  whole  mind,  by 
turning  the  attention  to  all  other  truth  that  is  inti- 
mately connected  with  the  one  embraced.  But  that 
mind  can  be  reached  only  with  moral  truth.  Philo- 
sophers have  never  made  religion,  nor  developed  its 
principles,  but  religion  has  made  philosophers,  and 
they  have  been  perfect  and  true  philosophers  just  in 
proportion  as  the  world  has  been  enlightened  by  true 
religion.  As  well  might  we  undertake  to  teach  the 
blind  man  the  art  of  painting  as  to  suppose  men  unen- 
lightened by  the  truth  of  Heaven  could  ever  develop 
it  as  it  exists  in  any  science,  or  have  learned  the 
laws  of  gravitation,  or  magnetism,  or  anything  else. 
The  truth,  in  reference  to  our  moral  being,  is  first 
exhibited  arid  embraced,  and  this  develops  every 
other  truth.  It  may  be  possible  for  an  enlightened 
individual  to  elevate  to  some  good  degree  a  class  of 
ignorant  children,  by  inculcating  scientific  and  lite- 
rary truth  alone,  but  it  must  be  remembered  there  is 
necessarily  a  vast  amount  of  moral  truth  inseparably 
connected  with  his  instructions.  The  teacher  will 
impart  it,  though  he  is  unconscious  of  it.  After  the 
system  has  been  introduced  and  been  in  operation  for 
so  many  ages,  it  is  impossible  to  tell  where  its  in- 
fluence is  not  felt.  It  is  difficult  to  point  out  the  exact 
place  where  the  shade  begins  to  mingle  with  the  light 
in  a  well-wrought  picture.  There  are  two  points, 
however,  from  which  we  may  view  the  scene,  and  be 
convinced  of  the  truth  of  our  theory.  The  one  is  the 
beginning  of  the  world,  when  all  was  darkness,  and 


132  PHILOSOPHY    OF    REFORM. 

the  path  of  truth  entirely  lost ;  and  the  other  is  an  en- 
lightened people,  who  have  banished  from  their  midst 
all  moral  truth,  and  abjured  the  God  who  made  them. 
In  the  former  case,  without  the  introduction  of  moral 
truth,  the  world  could  never  have  become  enlightened ; 
and  in  the  latter,  the  people  would  soon  become  cor- 
rupt, then  ignorant,  until  they  would  lose  all  traces  of 
intelligence  and  knowledge.  Therefore,  the  intro- 
duction of  moral  truth  into  the  world  has  had  an 
effect,  not  only  to  preserve  it  from  utter  decay,  but 
to  give  life  to  all  the  elements.  Truth  naturally 
struggles  for  its  birth.  When  life  is  imparted  to  it, 
there  is  no  form  capable  of  preventing  its  coming  to 
the  light.  Here,  then,  we  may  account  for  the  com- 
motions, the  restlessness  and  the  revolutions  with 
which  the  world  has  ever  been  filled.  Truth  must 
and  will  work  itself  out,  even  if  it  jostles  the  king  on 
his  throne,  or  dashes  nation  against  nation  on  waves  of 
fire  and  blood.  This  sympathy  of  truth  with  truth, 
when  once  love  has  been  imparted,  gives  the  system 
for  its  propagation  almighty  power.  Here,  then, 
we  have  the  world  alive,  and  its  life  is  not  that  of  a 
faint  infant,  but  of  an  aroused  giant.  Its  whole  being 
is  awake,  and  its  great  heart  beats  strong,  and  every 
muscle  and  all  its  energy  is  taxed  to  give  full  develop- 
ment to  truth. 

There  is  an  interesting  unity  in  the  progress  of  refor- 
mation. As  we  have  seen,  moral  truth  is  the  great 
centre-truth  that  will  shine  in  spite  of  every  hindrance : 
and  as  is  its  brightness,  so  will  be  the  clearness  with 
which  men  can  see  into  things.  Each  separate  truth 
will  afford  some  light  to  dispel  the  darkness  that  hides 
other  truth  ;  and  thus  it  is  pre-eminently  true,  that 
"  whosoever  hath,  Xo  him  it  shall  be  given."     For 


THE    LAWS    OF    REFORMATION.  133 

instance,  true  religion  will  bring  tlie  wandering  sa\  - 
age  from  the  forest  into  the  open,  riiltiwited  field. 
This  will  be  tilled,  not  only  to  supply  a  bare  suste- 
nance to  ili<  family,  but  to  obtain,  by  exchange,  the 
luxuries  and  necessities  of  an  enlightened  and  refined 
life.  This  surplus  produce  must  be  transport  1  -d  to  a 
remote  portion  of  the  country,  or  to  a  detain  part  of 
the  world,  which  also  requires  facilities  for  transporta- 
tion, and  for  producing  articles  of  manufacture  needed 
by  the  people.  This,  in  its  turn,  will  arouse  die 
inventive  energies  of  a  portion  of  mankind  ;  and,  at 
first,  you  will  see  the  heavy,  lumberly-built  vessel,  roll- 
ing lazily  down  the  river  and  coast.  Soon  it  is  thrown 
aside  for  the  quick-winged  packet  and  the  flying  strain  - 
boat,  and  these  in  time  are  abandoned  for  the  "  iron 
horse  "  that  thunders  along  the  track  at  the  rate  of 
thirty  miles  the  hour.  All  this  requires  the  highest 
order  of  intellect  in  every  department  of  life.  This 
pre-supposes  an  enlightened  civil  government,  for  not 
otherwise  could  they  exist  as  a  people,  and  secure  a 
thousand  wants  and  the  protection  their  natures  de- 
mand. Thus,  the  existence  of  a  single  truth  demands 
another,  and  the  working  of  this  principle  we  may 
trace  from  the  first  dawning  of  truth  that  shines  out 
from  the  Cross  into  the  heart  of  this  poor,  accursed 
earth,  to  the  whole  development  of  the  same  ;  just  as, 
in  exhuming  a  buried  city,  first  a  few  of  the  broken 
columns  of  its  stately  temples  appear,  and  then  the 
temples  themselves,  and  finally  the  magnificent  plan 
of  the  whole.  To  illustrate  this  thought  still  further  : 
at  the  first  awakings  of  the  mind,  all  thoughts,  truths 
and  facts,  are  crude,  vague  and  indefinite ;  hence, 
all  practical  conclusions  are  arrived  at  slowly  and  with 
much  uncertainty.     Time  passes  on,  and  a  single  fact 


134  PHILOSOPHY    OF    REFORM. 

is  obtained  and  fixed  as  a  guide.  From  this  advanced 
position  another  is  discovered  through  the  mist,  and 
then  another,  and  still  another.  Soon  from  these  esta- 
blished facts  men  begin  to  invent  systems,  work  out 
other  truths ;  and  then  thoughts,  reasoning  and  inves- 
tigations are  increased — letters  are  invented,  and  the 
art  of  printing— posts  for  the  transmission  of  news  are 
established,  and  then  the  Post  Office  system,  with  rail- 
roads and  steamboats  to-  carry  the  mails.  This  short- 
ens the  distance  between  different  portions  of  the 
country,  and  between  one  country  and  another,  so 
that  the  whole  world  becomes  one  family,  and  each 
member  receives  the  needed  assistance  from  the  other. 
Time  passes  on,  and  men  come  to  think  so  rapidly 
and  correctly,  and  the  demand  for  intercourse  with 
distant  portions  of  the  land  so  imperative,  that  the 
lightning  is  harnessed  down,  and  made  to  bear  on  its 
swift  wing  the  urgent  and  weighty  thought,  so  that 
space  is  annihilated,  and  the  agent  in  Maine  may  be 
able  to  converse  with  the  owner  in  New  Orleans  in  ref- 
erence to  the  sale  of  a  cargo  of  cotton  bales.  •  Is  there 
not,  therefore,  an  intimate  connection  between  the 
smallest  and  the  greatest  want,  and  between  the  most 
simple  and  the  most  perfect  machine — and  does  not 
the  demand  for  the  one  create  a  demand  for  the  other 
— and  is  not  the  whole  system  so  interlocked  that  with 
the  existence  of  the  one  we  may  depend  on  the  exist- 
ence of  the  other — and  is  not  the  whole  moved  on 
together  1 

Not  only  is  this  true  of  a  single  people,  but  the  same 
is  true  of  the  whole  world ;  and  this  not  merely  for  a 
single  period,  but  for  all  time.  The  world  is  divided 
into  different  portions  by  its  mountains,  rivers  and 
oceans.     Each  one  of  these  portions  is  a  member  of 


HIE    LAWS    OF    REFORMATION.  |.t;, 

flit*  same  This    body  18    animated    b\   the  same 

principled  This  intimate  connection  creates  deep  sym- 
pathy between  r\(  iv  )>;ni.  When  one  suffers,  through 
the  prevalence  of  ignorance,  superstition  and  \  ice, 
every  other,  to  a  certain  extent,  suffers  with  it.  Is  it 
not  also  true  that  enlightening  and  elevating  one  will 
produce  a  corresponding  sensation  in  every  other?  It 
may  require  ages  for  the  heart's  pulsations  to  be  f<  It  in 
the  farthest  extremity,  but  their  vibration  will  be  pro- 
longed until  they  reach  not  only  the  Celestial  empire, 
hut  every  other  people  on  the  globe.  Who  has  it  yet 
to  learn  that  the  civilization  of  England  and  America 
alone  is  opening  every  hitherto  bolted  door,  and  level- 
ing with  the  eartli  the  hitherto  impregnable  walls  that 
have  shut  out  the  light  of  truth  from  the  Eastern 
world  ?  That  people  are  to  receive  the  truth,  and 
with  it  commotions  and  revolutions,  and  pass  through 
the  several  steps  of  reformation.  Thus  the  whole 
world  has  ever  been  affected.  Its  reformation  is  like 
a  well-laid  plot  in  a  play.  Frequently  a  fact  or  scene 
is  introduced  that  appears  to  have  no  possible  con- 
nection with  the  general  plan,  but  the  sequel  shows 
there  exists  a  clear  and  important  connection  in  all 
its  parts.  One  nation  is  destroyed  and  another  is 
raised  up — one  is  enlightened  and  another  is  kept  in 
ignorance — but  each  event  and  fact  has  an  important 
bearing  upon  the  world's  advancement  in  the  truth. 
Here  we  may  see  light  and  darkness  meet,  and  hear 
the  thunder  produced  by  the  contest,  and  be  compelled 
to  witness  the  apparent  victory  of  the  latter ;  but  the 
former  has  retired  from  choice,  having  plunged  the 
arrow  of  truth  deep  into  the  heart  of  its  antagonist,  or 
for  the  purpose  of  more  extensive  preparation.  In 
another  portion  of  the  world  darkness  reigns  without 


136  PHILOSOPHY    OF    REFORM. 

a  rival,  but  it  is  only  while  an  all-wise  Providence  is 
preparing  for  its  overthrow  in  some  other  qnarter.  As 
no  one  faculty  or  portion  of  our  minds  can  be  fully 
developed  and  perfected  while  every  other  remains 
uneducated,  so  no  one  portion  of  the  race  can  be  thor- 
oughly reformed  while  every  other  part  remains  unaf- 
fected. The  elevation  of  any  one  portion  is  raising 
the  pure  waters  of  truth  until  they  overflow  their 
banks,  and  fill  the  world  with  their  life-giving  power. 
Again,  a  truth  once  developed  and  established  is 
never  lost.  But  upon  the  very  threshhold  we  are  met 
with  the  assertion,  that  the  art  of  tempering  copper  so 
as  to  make  it  serviceable  for  swords,  and  chisels  for 
cutting  the  hardest  rock,  has  been  lost.  What  of  that? 
Has  the  fact  been  lost  ?  Have  we  not  both  swords  and 
chisels  made  of  good  steel,  which  must  be  far  superior 
to  any  that  could  be  made  of  copper  1  This  art  is 
lost  just  as  the  old-fashioned  built  schooner  that  re- 
quired three  weeks  to  make  a  voyage  from  Albany  to 
New  York  is  lost  to  the  present  generation,  in  the  gal- 
lant steamboat  that  makes  its  trip  in  eight  hours.  An 
exhumed  or  developed  truth  may  remain  stationary — 
sealed  up  for  future  use  so  as  not  to  have  influence  in 
anything,  or  scarcely  be  recognized  by  mankind,  but 
lost  it  can  never  be.  The  sun  may  be  obscured  by 
clouds  for  a  month,  but  vegetation  will  not  grow  back 
into  the  earth,  but  remain,  and  await  the  coming 
influence  of  its  rays.  A  truth,  in  any  department 
of  life,  may  be  established  and  there  remain ;  while 
other  truths  in  reference  to  other  things  are  developed, 
that  are  intimately  connected  with  the  one  already 
discovered,  and  without  which  the  former  is  of  but 
little  practical  use.  The  mechanic  prepares  a  single 
stick  of  his  building  and  rolls  it  away,  and  then  an- 


THE    LAWS    OP    REFORMATION.  137 

other,  until  the  whole  is  finished  ;  he  then  puts  them 
together,  and  completes  lus  compart  and  beautiful  edi- 
fice.  All  the  facts  in  reference  to  steam  were  known 
!<>ng-  before  they  were  made  to  serve  our  interests  as 
at  present.  These /</<7.s\vero  filed  away  in  the  world's 
library.  The  increased  products  of  the  soil,  the  in- 
crease of  trade,  and  the  increasing  demand  for  manu- 
factures, sent  a  deputation  to  the  mind  to  take  these 
facts  and  work  out  an  engine,  or  a  body  in  which  this 
living  spirit  might  live  and  serve  us.  A  Fulton  obeyed 
the  command.  He  fashioned  a  machine  into  which 
he  harnessed  this  never-tiring  spirit,  which  has  gained 
for  him  immortality  in  this  world.  The  earth,  air  and 
sea,  and  every  living  fact,  shall  yet  be, -by  forthcoming 
Fultons,  harnessed  into  the  fiery  chariot  that  will  bear 
the  world  on  to  the  temple  of  unfading  glory. 

This  is  equally  true  in  the  moral  world.  One  and 
another  principle  are  developed  and  firmly  established. 
Each  previous  one  assists  in  developing  the  next,  and 
thus  on,  until  the  whole  are  wrought  out.  No  one  is 
ever  lost;  it  may  be  nearly  forgotten  for  a  time,  while 
Providence  is  bringing  out  some  other  intimate  truth,  or 
it  may  be  rejected  and  opposed,  by  a  few,  at  the  time  of 
its  development,  but  as  well  might  we  undertake  to 
destroy  the  warmth  of  the  sun  in  a  cloudless  day  as  to 
annihilate  it.  It  exists  when  once  it  has  received  artic- 
ulation and  life,  and  it  finds  its  echo  in  the  hearts  of 
men;  they  are  therefore  conscious  of  its  worth,  as 
truly  as  they  are  of  the  applicability  of  cold  water  to 
quench  their  thirst.  Each  rising  generation  receives, 
in  the  last  will  and  testament  of  the  preceding  one,  all 
the  facts,  and  truths  and  wealth  of  the  world.  They 
are  safely  kept,  with  whatever  may  be  added,  for  the 
coming  generation.     In  this  transmission,  the  names 


138  PHILOSOPHY    OF    REFORM. 

of  things  may  be  changed,  or  they  may  be  so  mingled 
together  as  to  form  compounds  different  from  their 
simples,  still  the  nature  of  the  thing  is  not  changed, 
but  exists  in  that  state  where  its  influence  is  greatly 
increased.  The  true  doctrines  of  the  gospel  were,  no 
doubt,  wrought  out  and  established  in  the  world  in  the 
first  ages  of  Christianity,  but  the  history  of  the  Church 
shows  how  little  influence  they  have  yet  had  in  the 
world.  Other  truths  must  be  wrought  out  before  these 
doctrines  will  have  full  play  in  the  system,  and  be  able 
to  exert  their  legitimate  power  in  the  great  reformation. 
Truth  is  not  discovered  by  a  direct  effort  to  find  it. 
It  is  far  too  deep,  as  we  have  seen,  for  philosophers 
or  wise  men  to  develop.  Previous  to  its  known  ex- 
istence, it  was  to  man  as  though  it  had  no  existence. 
Amid  the  chaos  and  darkness,  he  has  struggled  and 
floundered,  and  at  last  stumbled  upon  here  and  there 
a  truth  when  he  least  expected  it.  Thus,  the  liberty  of 
conscience  was  wrought  out  by  the  Church  in  her  de- 
fence against  the  barbarians.  She  had  been  brought 
into  that  position  where  she  must  assert  and  maintain 
this  doctrine  to  effectually  guard  against  an  evil  she 
could  not  otherwise  avoid.  Thus,  also,  it  has  been  in 
every  age  of  the  world  ;  many  rich  truths  and  princi- 
ples have  been  dug  up  and  established  that  were  not 
sought  for,  being  thrown  out  by  those  who  were  en^ 
deavoring  to  remove  the  rubbish  from  some  old,  vene- 
rated temple,  or  while  contending  with  want,  misery 
or  death.  Although  it  may  be  said  that  the  mind  pos- 
sesses an  inherent  anxiety  for  its  own  development,  it 
has  not  the  strength  and  penetration  to  find  what  is 
beyond  its  sight ;  and,  indeed,  it  possesses  no  such 
anxiety.  Its  desires  are  limited,  in  a  great  degree,  by 
its  knowledge.    .When  once  a  position  is  obtained,  it 


tin:   laws  of  reformation.  139 

is  satisfied,  until  the  foundation  heroines  too  small,  or 
the  covering  too  short.  Its  wants  are  then  mrretltd 
beyond  the  capacity  of  its  former  system  to  supply  th<  m. 
Then  comes  a  struggle  with  death,  which  hriugg  out 
its  strength  until  it  is  able  to  extend  its  domains  suffi- 
ciently for  its  free  and  easy  life.  In  these  soul-labors 
Ml  thoughts  and  truths  are  developed,  that  are  in 
time  wrought  into  a  system  for  the  benefit  of  the  race 
Thus,  an  all-wise  Providence  is  able  to  bring  out  the 
truth,  not  so  rapidly,  perhaps,  as  our  hurrying  spirit 
may  wish,  but  as  fast  as  it  can  be  established.  It 
should  be  remembered  that  He  is  not  anxious  to  hurry 
to-day  the  consequences  of  principles  established  yes- 
terday. He  may  defer  the  conclusion  for  ages,  and 
yet  his  logic  is  none  the  less  conclusive  for  reasoning 
slowly.  He  may  make  a  single  movement,  and  ages 
roll  away,  still  it  is  progressing  all  over  the  world,  and 
developing  and  establishing  truth  everywhere. 

The  reformation  does  not  progress,  so  far  as  it  is  vi- 
sible, regularly  like  an  ever-flowing  stream,  constantly 
increasing  in  size  and  strength,  but  an  advancement  is 
made,  and  years  pass  away  before  another  is  effected. 
Each  one  of  these  periods  is  the  crisis  of  the  event  to 
which  all.  things  had  been  tending,  and  for  which  they 
had  been  acting  since  the  one  immediately  preceding. 
These  causes  are  unseen  by  us,  but  this  does  not  de- 
stroy their  existence  or  effect.  The  crisis  is  formed, 
and  the  event  produced,  just  as  an  explosion  is  caused 
by  applying  fire  to  powder.  Error  and  wrong  in- 
wrought into  a  system,  was  suffered  to  accumulate  until 
the  whole  mass  became  corrupt,  and  then  some  pre- 
viously established  principle  or  fact  is  applied  as  a 
torch-light  to  the  combustible  material,  and  the  effect 
is  almost  instantaneous.     Thus  is  the  reformation  un- 


140  PHILOSOPHY    OF    REFORM. 

der  Luther;  the  preaching  and  publishing  a  single 
truth  broke  up  the  whole  moral  world  and  tumbled  it 
into  chaotic  confusion.  Unless  that  truth  had  been 
previously  brought  out  and  acknowledged,  so  that 
whenever  and  wherever  it  was  repeated  it  would  produce 
a  corresponding  emotion  in  men's  minds,  and  echo  in 
their  reason,  it  would  have  done  no  good  ;  but,  under 
many  supposable  circumstances,  vast  injury.  It  might 
have  been  taught  when  the  effort  would  have  been 
treated  as  an  innovation,  and  the  teacher  of  the  new 
doctrine  pronounced  a  fanatic,  and  have  proved  him- 
self a  poor  philosopher  and  a  false  reformer.  When 
an  event  has  come  and  gone,  having  transmitted  its 
blessings  to  the  world,  we  are  able  to  trace  out  the 
causes  that  produced  it.  We  find  ourselves  in  a  more 
elevated  position  than  our  fathers  enjoyed,  and,  re- 
joicing in  our  imagined  perfection,  we  not  unfrequently 
deny  the  agency  of  Providence  in  our  progress,  when 
we  see  that  our  situation  has  been  gained  by  the  ope- 
ration of  fixed  laws,  in  a  natural  process.  There  is 
also  an  intimate  connection  between  these  different 
events.  Like  locks  in  the  canal,  where  the  last  can- 
not be  reached  without  the  first  having  been  passed, 
or  as  the  outposts  of  an  army  are  required  to  be  taken 
before  the  main  army  can  be  subdued  ;  so  each  event 
is  a  victory  over  some  opposing  force,  and  is  thus  pre- 
paring the  world  for  its  last  great  conflict  with  wrong, 
or  lifting  it  up  another  degree  towards  its  final  resting- 
place. 

Truth  in  the  progress  of  development  will  be  embo- 
died in  different  forms,  according  to  the  circumstances 
of  men,  and  the  purity  and  perfection  in  which  it  is 
received.  Thus  we  may  account  for  the  character  of 
the  different  religions  of  the  world,  and  the  different 


THE    LAW8    OF    REFORMATION.  141 

forms  of  government.  In  proportion  to  the  light  men 
enjoy,  will  be  the  freffoelihn  of  their  systems  of  religion, 
social  and  civil  systems,  and  their  theories  and  views  of 
all  things.  Our  wants  increase  with  our  development. 
As  nature  is  true  to  herself,  we  always  find  means  to 
meet  all  our  natural  demands.  Our  systems  to  supply 
these  wants  will  partake  of  the  nature  of  the  ohjeet  to 
be  secured.  When  the  interest  of  the  world  requires 
the  Atlantic,  from  Liverpool  to  New  York,  to  be  crossed 
in  twelve  days,  it  is  done.  As  a  general  thing,  all  our 
systems  for  social  or  intellectual  improvement,  all  our 
religious  and  civil  institutions,  are  just  such  as  to  sup- 
ply the  wants  of  our  natures,  and  are  therefore  re- 
garded by  us  as  perfect.  These  systems  among  the 
Chinese,  as  well  as  among  the  most  enlightened  na- 
tions, are  the  embodiment  of  all  the  truth  developed 
among  them.  They  exist,  therefore,  and  will  continue 
to  change  and  exist  in  every  portion  of  the  world,  as 
truth  is  developed  in  their  midst,  or  as  civilization  pro- 


When  an  event  has  passed  away,  and  we  have 
come  into  full  possession  of  all  it  has  ta  bequeath — 
regarding  the  truth  we  enjoy  the  sum  total  of  the 
world's  inheritance — we  commence  building  it  into  a 
system  to  render  permanent  the  supply  that  our  ex- 
panded natures  demand.  This  thought  is  our  hobby. 
We  attempt  to  build  with  this  for  our  corner-stone ; 
but  while  there  are  other  truths  intimately  connected 
with  it,  of  which  we  are  ignorant,  our  attempt  will 
be  like  striving  to  mix  iron  and  clay,  between  which 
there  is  no  affinity.  For  a  while  the  materials  are 
held  together  by  sufferance,  without  complaining,  but 
the  time  will  come  when  this  attempted  union  will 
produce  fomentation  and  consequent  commotion,  which 


142  PHILOSOPHY    OF    REFORM. 

will  purge  out  the  impurities  and  cleanse  the  system. 
There  is  stability  in  nothing  but  truth.  There  is  sta- 
bility in  no  system  of  morals  where  there  is  not  a  strict 
and  perfect  conformity  to  truth.  Hence,  now  and  then, 
in  all  ages  of  the  world,  there  is  a  great  commotion 
amid  the  elements,  which  results  in  more  or  less  good. 
We  may  be  referred  to  some  of  the  kingdoms  of  the 
East,  to  disprove  our  theory.  We  admit  that  the  peo- 
ple of  China  have  remained  stationary  for  ages,  or 
nearly  so  ;  but  their  government  is  just  such  as  they 
need— the  only  one  that  can  or  ought  to  be  adminis- 
tered to  such  a  people.  In  reference  to  their  moral 
and  intellectual  immobility,  it  shall  be  accounted  for 
in  the  proper  place.  Thus  one  system  after  another 
is  overthrown,  which  gives  place  to  one  more  exten- 
sive and  perfect.  We  usually  cling  to  the  decaying 
scheme  so  long  as  it  possesses  the  least  soundness,  and 
no  one  has  ever  entirely  perished  without  vast  num- 
bers to  mourn  its  loss,  but  we  return  from  its  grave  to 
forget  it  in  the  joy  derived  from  its  more  perfect  suc- 
cessor. An  event  in  the  reformation  always  casts  its 
shadow  before  it.  A  light  mist  is  seen  gathering 
around  existing  systems  and  institutions,  and  they 
appear  to  be  gradually  receding  and  dissolving  into 
those  that  are  forthcoming.  But  instead  of  this  being 
hailed  as  the  precursor  of  good,  it  is  commonly  regarded 
as  the  ushering  in  of  a  long  and  dreary  night.  We 
are  usually  unwilling  to  abandon  what  has  served  us 
well,  even  when  it  has  become  unfit  for  further  use, 
and  therefore  regard  that  as  an  innovation  which  is 
seeking  to  be  installed  in  its  place.  There  is  an  exact 
point  of  beginning  and  ending  of  each  one  of  these 
periods,  but  it  is  far  more  difficult  to  designate  them 
than  it  is  to  tell  the  moment  when  the  light  of  the  sun 


OF  Til* 
LAWS    OF    REFORMATlitff'  «  *  V  E£l  5  I  , 

begins  to  stream  over  the  eastern  hills  am 
the  western.  These  lines  are  never  sought  Tot 
the  event  has  passed,  and  another  generation  are  reap- 
ing its  blessings.  It  is,  comparatively,  an  easy  matter 
loi  us  now  to  see  that  the  dawn  of  the  reformation  of 
ili«>  sixteenth  century  began  ages  before  the  event  took 
place.  That  classic  school,  the  revival  of  letters,  the 
in \rntion  of  paper,  the  art  of  printing,  and  the  com- 
pass needle,  were  so  many  early  flowers  of  spring  that 
betokened  the  approach  of  summer.  The  pure  throb- 
bing and  panting  of  the  heart  of  John  Huss  for  a 
reformation,  was  the  effect  of  the  vibration  caused  by 
the  light  of  truth  just  beginning  to  penetrate  the  world's 
darkness.  The  meeting  of  that  council  of  Ecclesias- 
tics to  prepare  measures  to  purify  the  Church,  and 
which  consigned  this  good  man  to  the  flames,  echoed 
the  convictions  of  the  world  on  this  subject.  The 
increasing  light  of  this  reformation  was  unseen  and 
unknown,  until  it  burst  in  all  its  meridian  splen- 
dor and  power  upon  the  world  in  the  year  1520,  Dec. 
10,  when  Luther  publicly  burnt  the  Pope's  bull  of 
excommunication.  The  same  is  true  in  the  history  of 
every  event,  whether  great  or  small.  Were  the  world 
sufficiently  enlightened,  we  might  be  able  to  prepare 
ourselves  beforehand  for  the  coming  change,  and  aid 
in  developing  the  forthcoming  blessing. 

Neither  does  the  influence  of  these  events  pass  away 
more  rapidly  than  they  are  ushered  in.  In  proportion 
to  their  importance  is  the  extensiveness  and  duration 
of  their  influence.  And,  indeed,  it  may  very  properly 
be  said  that  their  influence  is  never  wholly  lost  in  the 
affairs  of  the  world  ;  for  after  every  direct  trace  of  them 
has  been  obliterated,  all  their  truth  and  real  worth  still 
existing,  is  invigorating,  and  strengthening  and  pre- 


144  PHILOSOPHY    OF    REFORM. 

paring  the  race  for  richer  blessings.  The  waters  of 
the  mountain  stream  may  mingle  with  those  of  the 
ocean  and  not  be  lost,  but  help  increase  its  volume  and 
its  rolling  wave.  They  break,  as  we  have  seen,  like 
unsuspected  thunder  from  the  clouds — the  world  is 
startled  and  aroused  from  slumber,  and  thrown  into 
great  commotion — there  it  struggles  and  contends  with 
the  leaders  until  they  are  removed  by  death.  Still  its 
influence  is  not  destroyed,  but  continues  until  it 
is  fully  spent  in  securing  all  it  promised.  Thus 
it  was  with  the  reformation  referred  to  ;  its  direct  influ- 
ence did  not  cease  until  1648,  at  the  treaty  of  West- 
phalia, when  the  Protestant  and  Catholic  States  recip- 
rocally acknowledged  each  other.  From  this  time  the 
divisions  among  States,  their  alliances  and  external 
policy,  were  directed  by  considerations  that  usually 
affect  the  world,  and  not  by  religious  belief. 

Truth  is  always  wrought  out  in  the  hearts  of  men, 
before  it  is  adopted  practically  ;  that  is,  it  is  always 
positive  before  it  is  negative.  It  appears  that  the  inner 
eye  and  ear  must  first  see  and  hear  it,  and  it  must 
become  a  part  of  our  being,  before  we  dare  trust  it  in 
practical  life.  The  foundation  is  laid  before  the  super- 
structure is  reared,  or  the  principles  are  fully  established 
before  their  conclusion  is  acknowledged.  This  is  owing 
to  the  human  mind's  being  averse  to  change,  and  its 
respect  and  veneration  for  long-established  usages  and 
customs  ;  and  from  the  fact  that  we  are  unable  to  per- 
ceive an  abstract,  disembodied  principle,  of  which  we 
have  had  no  experience,  much  less  embrace  it.  All 
facts  and  truths  are  first  wrought  out,  in  the  manner 
already  described  ;  from  the  development  of  our  being 
our  wants  are  increased  beyond  the  ability  of  our 
present  systems  to  supply  them,  therefore  the  human 


THE    LAW8    OF    REFORMATION.  \[  | 

mind  is  pressed  by  necessity  to  arrange  Uiese  truths, 
ami  create  a  system  that  the  state  of  society  demands. 
This  is  pre-eminently  true  in  moral  reformations. 
Before  the  application  of  any  principle  of  truth  can 
be  made  available  for  the  removal  of  an  evil,  that 
principle  must  be  seen  and  acknowledged.  It  may 
have  become  established  in  the  mind  of  a  reformer, 
ami  to  him  its  conclusions  are  self-evident,  and  there- 
fore that  that  practice  is  wrong  and  should  be  aban- 
doned at  once  ;  but  when  he  comes  to  publish  to  others 
what  is  so  plain  and  true  to  him,  he  finds  no  response 
in  their  hearts,  but  is  rather  rejected  with  disdain. 
He  may,  in  his  zeal  and  honesty  of  heart,  denounce 
them  in  unmeasured  terms,  and  regard  himself  highly 
honored  for  what  he  chooses  to  call  persecution  for  the 
cause  of  truth  ;  but  such  conduct  proves  him  to  be  a 
false  reformer,  and  an  unsafe  leader.  When  those 
principles,  in  whose  light  this  and  that  is  seen  to  be 
wrong,  are  fully  established  in  the  minds  of  any  com- 
munity, the  wrong  will  be  immediately  and  naturally 
abandoned.  It  is  possible  for  the  evil  to  be  removed 
by  physical  power  before  this  is  accomplished,  but  the 
disease  is  not  removed,  its  outward  development  is 
merely  changed.  It  had  better  remain,  as  evil  as  it 
may  be,  until  it  can  be  removed  in  a  legitimate  way 
that  shall  not  cause  more  injury  than  the  thing  itself. 
Intemperance  and  slavery  will  never  be  abandoned, 
until  you  establish  those  principles  whose  legitimate 
conclusions  will  reach  the  case.  Indeed,  the  old,  lazy- 
sailing  schooner  was  not  exchanged  for  the  rapid-sail- 
ing steamboat,  until  the  true  utility  of  the  latter  had 
become  a  fixed  fact  in  the  minds  of  men  ;  previous  to 
this,  every  trip  was  an  experiment  to  test  its  worth  and 
establish  its  superior  claim.    In  all  the  dealings  of  Prov- 


146  PHILOSOPHY    OF    REFORM. 

idence  it  appears  to  be  the  design  to  establish  the  truth 
in  our  minds,  while  error  is  left  to  its  own  inherent 
weakness,  without  being  separately  and  distinctly  at- 
tacked. The  movements  of  Providence  are  more  like 
the  tree  growing  out  from  the  wall  that  has  been  built 
to  destroy  it.  The  tree  has  no  direct  dealing  with  the 
wall,  but  its  whole  strength  and  time  is  occupied  in 
its  own  development.  True,  that  wall  will  be  thrown 
down  in  its  growth — so  will  all  the  error-systems  of 
the  world  by  the  development  of  truth  ;  but  the  design 
of  that  tree  is  not  to  destroy  the  wall — no  more  is  it  the 
chief  aim  of  Providence  to  destroy  error  by  giving  truth 
a  firm  establishment  in  the  earth.  The  establishment 
of  truth  for  its  own  sake,  and  for  the  glory  of  Him 
who  created  and  revealed  it  to  us,  ought  to  be  a  suffi- 
cient-inducement  to  engage  the  energies  of  the  uni- 
verse in  this  work.  We  conceive  it  to  be  the  duty  of 
all  men  to  conduct  similarly — seek  to  develop  them- 
selves and  those  around  them,  and  thus  aid  in  eleva- 
ting the  race  above  all  wrong.  We  have  but  little 
confidence  in,  or  sympathy  for,  any  of  our  modern 
sin-haters  and  sin-reprovers,  who  are  not  truth-lovers 
and  truth-establishers.  He  who  is  of  the  latter  char- 
acter will  possess  the  former  by  virtue  of  his  good  and 
noble  labor.  Luther  was  once  urged  to  open  his  batte- 
ries upon  the  forms  and  ceremonies  of  the  Church,  but 
his  answer  is  significant  of  a  wise  man  ;  "  Let  us  esta- 
blish the  principles  of  truth  in  men's  hearts  before  we 
attack  their  sins."  His  ninety-nine  propositions  that 
he  pasted  to  the  church-door,  attacked  the  false  theol- 
ogy of  the  Church  rather  than  the  superstition  of 
the  people.  This,  too,  was  wise,  and  proof  of  his  being 
a  true  reformer. 

In  the  progress  of  truth,  old  forms  and  systems  are 


HIE    LAW8    OF    REFORMATION.  147 

never  abandoned  until  worn  out  or  outgrown.  Th.  \ 
were  adopted  to  meet  the  wants  of  a  particular  state  of 
society.  If  that  was  a  perfect  state,  or  if  there  was  no 
possibility  of  improving  it,  these  systems  would  never 
change.  But  the  state  of  society  is  constantly  chang- 
ing ;  hence,  our  wants  become  more  varied  and  ex- 
tensive; consequently,  those  schemes  require  a  con- 
tinued alteration  or  amendment,  and  not  unfrequcntly 
to  bo  al>andoned  altogether.  In  the  infancy  of  any 
people,  when  ignorance  and  superstition  are  predomi- 
nant, a  despotic  form  of  government  is  usually  adopt- 
ed ;  in  a  more  advanced  state  of  civilization,  a  consti- 
tutional monarchy  is  required ;  and  where  virtue  and 
intelligence  have  become  universal,  a  republic  will 
alone  secure  all  that  is  demanded.  Now,  each  one 
of  these  forms  of  government  was  true  and  righteous 
to  the  people  that  were  fitted  for  no  other.  We  may 
as  well  "  cast  pearls  before  swine"  as  introduce  a  form 
of  government  among  a  people  that  could  not  appre- 
ciate it  or  feel  the  need  of  it.  A  republican  govern- 
ment, to  those  incapable  of  self-government,  would 
be  a  complete  falsity,  and  rejected  as  such.  You  may 
instruct  and  elevate  them  until  they  will  be  contented 
with  no  other.  During  this  process  of  growth,  they 
will  find  their  former  system  too  narrow  and  con- 
tracted, incapable  of  giving  full  play  to  their  expand- 
ed, free  minds,  and  then  they  will  be  abandoned. 
Previous  to  this,  they  do  not  feel  the  need  of  change, 
all  their  wants  being  supplied  by  the  one  they  have 
long  trusted.  All  this  is  owing  to  the  expansive 
nature  of  the  human  intellect.  Truth  is  capable  of 
expanding  it  until  it  will  burst  every  bond,  though  it 
were  girt  with  iron.  No  tyrant's  galling  chain,  no 
bolt  or  bar,  no  obstacle,  however  formidable,  can  pre- 


148  PHILOSOPHY    OF    REFORM. 

vent  the  mind  asserting  and  obtaining  its  own  free- 
dom when  an  angel  has  whispered  truth  in  its  ear. 
However  reluctant  it  may  be  to  part  with  the  former 
systems  that  had  served  it  so  well,  it  will  abandon 
them  as  useless,  outgrown  garments,  and  ascend  up 
to  a  more  elevated  position,  where  it  can  roam  in  the 
sunlight  of  truth,  with  a  dominion  sufficiently  exten- 
sive to  admit  of  gratifying  its  utmost  desire  for  research 
and  investigation.  This  is  a  grand  feature  of  the 
human  mind.  It  is  opposed  to  innovation  and  disor- 
ganization where  there  is  no  promise  of  something 
better  in  return.  Who  would  not  shrink  from  being 
hurled  from  the  deck  of  a  vessel  into  the  open  sea, 
where  he  can  find  no  foundation  for  his  feetl  He 
is  a  reckless  fanatic  who  would  attempt  to  destroy  a 
system,  however  evil  he  may  imagine  it  to  be,  without 
proposing  another  that  would  be  really  preferable. 

It  does  not  appear  to  be  a  law  of  reformation  to 
push  an  established  principle  to  its  ultimate  conclu- 
sion at  once.  It  seeks  rather  to  conform  men  to  it 
gradually.  Previous  to  its  being  embodied  and  estab- 
lished practically,  we  are  adhering  to  systems  that 
are  erroneous,  and  hence  to  error  itself;  but  this  an 
all-wise  Providence  permits  rather  than  sanctions. 
The  world  is  to  be  taken  as  it  is,  and  its  thorough  re- 
formation effected  as  soon  as  possible.  There  has 
been  a  class  of  men  in  every  age  of  the  world  who 
have  spent  their  life  in  groaning  over  sin.  True, 
there  is  wrong  enough  in  this  world  to  bring  up  from 
every  virtuous  heart  deep  groans,  but  groaning  and 
lamenting  is  not  our  work.  We  are  to  labor  to  soothe 
earth's  sorrows,  and  lift  up  the  down-pressed  and 
mourning,  and  bid  them  be  of  good  cheer,  and  inspire 
them  with  courage  and  confidence.     We  are  to  seek 


THE    LAWS    OF    REFORMATION.  149 

1I1.  world's  reformation  in  the  right  way,  by  the  es- 
tablishment and  development  of  truth  everywhere, 
and  not  spend  our  strength  in  battling  the  demons  of 
wrong.  They  will  die  when  the  truth  is  established. 
They  will  never  die  till  then,  notwithstanding  our 
zealous  and  courageous  efforts.  Therefore,  while  we 
are  engaged  here,  our  time  is  wasted,  our  spirits 
touted,  and  our  energies  prostrated. 

It  is  impossible,  unless  wc  are  more  skilled  in  the 
knw  ledge  of  the  progress  of  truth  than  any  who  have 
yet  lived  in  the  world,  to  mark  out  precisely  the  shape 
affairs  will  take  from  the  crisis  of  any  event.  The  laws 
of  reformation  are  not  sufficiently  understood,  and  we 
are  not  able  to  calculate  the  force  and  influence  of  sepa- 
rate facts,  even  were  they  all  in  full  view,  to  admit  of 
this.  Therefore,  they  come  and  go  without  much  direct 
aid  from  us.  They  astonish  and  perplex,  as  well  as  sur- 
prise us,  at  the  wonderful  blessings  they  confer.  Thus, 
they  have  to  contend  against  the  prejudice,  passions 
and  armed  force  of  the  world,  instead  of  receiving,  as 
they  should,  our  sympathy  and  aid.  Still,  it  moves 
on  conquering.  It  presents  a  scene,  as  we  look  back 
through  past  time,  the  most  grand,  imposing  and 
sublime..  The  time  must  come  when  every  fact  in 
reference  to  it  will  be  understood,  when  we  shall  be 
free  from  all  restraints,  and  able  to  engage  intelli- 
gently and  unitedly  in  securing  its  great  and  glorious 
object.  Instead  of  being  its  resister  and  opposer,  the 
world  will  be  its  fast  friend  and  supporter. 


CHAPTEK    VII 


THE    HISTORY    OF    REFORMATION. 

The  early  state  of  the  world— Its  state  at  the  coming  of  Christ— The 
teaching  of  Christ — Proof  of  the  establishment  of  the  Principles  of  Re- 
formation— The  Reformation  spreading — The  Philosophy  of  the  Schools 
— Heresies — Persecutions— The  fall  of  Rome — The  offices  of  Church 
become  the  offices  of  State — Influence  of  Barbarism — The  world  pre- 
pared for  a  Universal  Church — Truth  diffused  through  the  whole  mass. 

The  heart  of  every  true  lover  of  his  race,  whose  field 
of  vision  is  bounded  by  a  knowledge  of  his  own  gene- 
ration, must  ever  be  filled  with  sorrow  and  sadness. 
The  misery,  the  tears,  the  ignorance,  and  the  down- 
pressed  and  discouraged  spirits  with  which  the  earth  is 
filled,  without  hope  of  present  relief,  cannot  but  awaken 
the  liveliest  sympathies  in  the  bosom  of  humanity,  and 
when  despair  is  mingled  with  these  emotions,  as  it 
must  ever  be  when  we  look  not  beneath  the  surface 
of  things  as  they  exist  around  us,  their  poignancy  will 
be  increased  a  thousand-fold. 

On  the  other  hand,  how  bright  the  scene  and  cheer- 
ing the  prospect,  when  we  take  a  clear  view  of  the 
whole  world  for  the  present,  past  and  future  time! 
Looking  beneath  the  agitation,  strife  and  commotion 
of  the  time,  we  discover  an  otherwise  invisible  and  un- 
known agent,  whose  strength  is  omnipotent,  whose 
labors  are  constant  and  untiring,  and  whose  success  in 
redeeming  the  world  is  inevitable.  We  behold  an  in- 
timate connection  existing  between  all  events,  and  are 


•i  hi:   history  of  reformat  15] 

able  to  perceive  the  important  bearing  the  former  has 
upon  the  latter,  together  with  the  gradual  advance- 
ment of  the  race  in  every  improvement.  The  har- 
mony, the  grandeur,  and  the  sublimity  of  this  work, 
aside  from  its  great  and  glorious  object,  kindles  in  our 
minds  the  purest  and  deepest  emotions  of  delight. 

We  need  this  encouragement.  We  are  never  pre- 
pared for  noble  and  heroic  deeds,  until  we  become  filled 
with  the  importance  and  practicability  of  seeking  a 
great  and  worthy  object.  There  is  a  greatness  in  man 
that  exceeds  that  of  the  vaulted  heavens,  or  that  of  the 
unmeasured  sea.  The  world  needs  its  development. 
There  are  objects  all  around  us,  to  secure  which  our 
utmost  strength  is  required.  We  may  be  prepared  for 
evefy  true  labor.  The  heroism  of  the  world  has  too 
long  slumbered  for  the  want  of  suitable  objects  to  call 
it  forth.  Too  long  have  we  supposed  it  could  be  dis- 
played upon  the  battle-field  alone.  Marathon  and 
Waterloo,  Bunker  Hill  and  Trenton,  have  been  so  long 
pointed  out  to  us  as  exhibiting  the  true  heroic  of  our 
nature,  that  we  have  come  to  associate  with  it,  the  roar 
of  cannon  and  the  clash  of  arms,  as  its  constant  com- 
panions. The  heroism  displayed  upon  the  field  of 
truth,  in  battling  with  the  demons  that  infest  the  coast 
of  the  inner  man,  is  as  much  more  pure  and  elevated 
than  that  of  the  warrior,  as  is  the  benefit  conferred  upon 
the  race  by  making  the  earth  fruitful,  and  inspiring 
the  human  heart  with  confidence  and  courage  greater 
than  that  produced  by  fattening  the  soil  with  the  blood 
of  men,  and  making  it  the  plain  on  which  to  bleach 
their  bones.  Spread  out  the  world,  with  all  its  mise- 
ries and  wants,  its  bright  and  cheering  prospects,  let 
man  find  his  own  true  field  of  labor,  and  be  encouraged 
to  cultivate  it,  and  the  days  of  heroism  have  returned.. 
7* 


j  52  PHILOSOPHY   OF    REFORM. 

Thus,  instead  of  paving  our  way  to  the  Temple  of 
Fame  with  the  bones  of  an  injured  and  murdered  peo- 
ple, it  will  be  a  highway  cleared  of  its  rubbish  with 
our  own  hand,  and  planted  with  every  beautiful 
flower ;  and  instead  of  the  lamenting  and  wailing  tribe 
of  widows  and  orphans  for  our  escort,  earth's  angelic 
spirits  shall  conduct  us  there,  and  encircle  our  brow 
with  the  wreath  of  unfading  glory. 

The  principle,  at  which  we  have  hinted,  as  mould- 
ing, governing  and  directing  the  world's  affairs,  has 
not  been  sufficiently  developed  and  established  to  unite 
the  outward  world  in  its  co-operation.  Our  minds  and 
hearts  are  not  sufficiently  educated  for  this.  As  we 
journey  on  towards  our  future  position  we  are  contin- 
ually making  experiments,  creating  and  destroying 
systems  to  suit  the  present  hour,  and  thus  increasing 
in  stature,  thereby  preparing  ourselves  to  adopt  that 
true  system  which  alone  is  able  to  secure  to  us  all  our 
wants  in  our  most  elevated  state.  As  our  natures  are 
the  same,  our  wants,  and  truth  the  same,  we  may  ex- 
pect the  time  to  come  when  the  entire  race  will  be  in- 
fluenced and  directed  by  a  single  truth,  in  all  their 
outward  life. 

This  hidden,  unseen  fact,  that  we  term  the  refor- 
mation, and  that  is  thus  forthcoming  to  rule  the  world, 
we  are  to  exhibit  in  the  following  pages  of  history. 
In  this  way  we  hope  to  encourage  mankind,  and  lead 
them  forth  to  do  good  service  in  the  world,  securing  to 
the  race  lasting  benefit,  and  to  themselves  the  full  de- 
velopment of  their  entire  being. 

The  full  history  of  reformation  we  do  not  attempt  to 
write.  We  acknowledge  ourselves  incompetent  for  the 
task.  We  suspect  it  is  not  within  the  power  of  any  man 
to  do  this  subject  justice.     We  may  be  able  to  see  what 


THE    HISTORY    OF    REFORMATION.  \:,;\ 

should  be  done.  Every  fact  in  the  history  of  the 
world,  that  has  had  any  great  influence  in  its  affairs, 
should  be  perfectly  understood,  its  beginning  and  end, 
its  bearing  upon,  and  connection  with,  every  other. 
These  facts  should  be  arranged  and  classified,  and  a 
system  discovered  in  which  each  one  will  find  its  place, 
and  the  whole  exist  in  perfect  harmony.  The  general 
outlines  of  this  system,  we  believe  we  have  discovered, 
;iinl  that  into  it  every  fact  may  be  placed  so  as  to  form 
one  beautiful  picture ;  but  this  last  portion  of  the  work 
we  have  not  attempted.  We  trust  that  a  sufficient 
number  and  variety  of  facts  are  cited,  to  illustrate  our 
theory  and  establish  our  positions.  While,  therefore, 
the  sceptical  may  have  room  for  doubt  in  the  many 
facts  unaccounted  for,  the  honest  inquirer  after  truth 
will  find  the  key  that  will  unlock  all  the  mysteries, 
and  the  rule  that  will  solve  every  intricate  problem, 
with  which  the  world  is  filled. 

If  we  examine  the  state  of  mankind  previous  to  the 
coming  of  Christ — and,  indeed,  the  same  features  of 
society  remained  with  but  little  change  for  many  cen- 
turies after  him — we  find  they  were  influenced  and  di- 
rected, in  all  their  systems  and  movements,  by  a  single 
idea.  They  had  not  become  sufficiently  developed  for 
more  extensive  action.  If,  amid  the  turmoil  and  strife, 
the  theocratic  principle  obtained  the  lead  in  society,  as 
in  Egypt  and  India,  all  their  customs,  manners  and 
systems  were  moulded  from  this  pattern,  and  even  their 
monuments  bear  the  impress  of  its  image.  In  other 
regions,  the  principle  of  force,  having  obtained  the  rule 
in  the  victory  of  a  conquering  caste,  has  fashioned  the 
whole  system  of  society.  On  the  coasts  of  Asia  Minor 
and  Syria,  in  Ionia  and  Phoenicia,  the  democratic  prin- 
ciple held  the  entire  sway,  and  seemed  to  impress  its  vi- 


154  PHILOSOPHY    OF    REFORM. 

sible  form  on  all  their  institutions  and  ideas.  It  mattered 
not  what  principle  gained  the  ascendency  in  the  various 
struggles  in  which  the  ancients  were  frequently  en- 
gaged, whether  the  one  that  had  previously  ruled  the 
people,  or  some  other  of  an  entirely  different  nature, 
it  was  sure  to  take  the  lead  in  everything  that  pertained 
to  them.  They  were  contented  with  the  systems  that 
became  predominant.  They  sought  for  no  improve- 
ment, but  merely  to  adapt  themselves  to  their  present 
situation.  They  possessed  no  restless  energy  of  soul, 
that  would  not  give  them  peace  until  they  had  delved 
to  the  very  centre  of  things,  and  given  articulation 
and  life  to  the  otherwise  unknown  realities ;  therefore 
they  possessed  no  power  or  skill  for  research  and  in- 
vestigation, but,  contented  in  their  ignorance,  they 
pursued  their  beaten  path,  while  an  all-wise  Provi- 
dence wrought  out  the  means  for  their  future  elevation. 
The  wandering  tribe  of  the  Nomad,  which  exhibits 
the  first  grade  of  civilization,  had,  to  a  great  extent, 
been  broken  up,  and  the  scattered  shepherds  gathered 
within  walled  cities.  The  land  began  to  be  cultivated, 
but  it  was  not  peopled,  except  by  the  slaves  of  the 
proprietor,  who  dwelt  in  the  city.  We  read  of  na- 
tions, such  as  the  Latin,  the  Etrurian,  the  nations  of 
Magna  Grsecia  and  others,  but  they  were  only  a  con- 
federation of  cities.  Rome  conquered  the  world,  but 
it  was  only  with  cities  she  had  anything  to  do.  She 
has  left  us  evidence  of  this  in  her  great  roads  from  city 
to  city,  and  in  the  absence  of  churches,  country-seats  and 
villages,  that  everywhere  abound  where  a  people  have 
begun  to  feel  their  relationship  with  their  fellow-men, 
and  abandoned  their  several  separate  walled  locations 
to  mingle  with  and  aid  each  other.  This  walled  city 
life  may  be  regarded  the  second  stage  of  civilization. 


THE    HISTORY    OF    REFORMATION.  j ;,;, 

Until  this  mode  of  life  is  broken  up,  and  men  are 
brought  together  from  different  parts  of  the  country, 
and  are  influenced  by  the  same  interests,  and  whose 
hearts  thrill  with  the  same  emotions,  it  is  impossible 
to  mould  them  into  one  compact  body,  and  forma 
compact  and  efficient  government.  Thus  Rome  found 
it  difficult  to  govern  the  world  after  it  was  conquered. 
There  was  no  bond  of  union  between  the  different  parts. 
The  empire  was  formed  to  remedy  this,  but  that  fell 
to  pieces  in  time  for  the  same  reason ;  and  then,  in  her 
last  struggle  for  life,  when  she  sought  to  form  one  vast 
representative  government,  no  city  or  province  would 
send  deputies  to  Aries.  The  people  felt  no  spirit  of 
unity.  They  confined  themselves  within  their  own 
walls,  and  there  pursued  their  accustomed  avocations, 
and  thus  they  let  the  empire  fall,  simply  because  no 
one  would  belong  to  it. 

Now,  if  the  reformation  is  to  bring  the  whole  world 
together,  and  govern  and  direct  it  in  every  minute 
concern,  this  state  of  things  must  be  broken  up.  And 
besides,  in  such  a  state  of  society  there  is  no  room  or 
incentive  for  great  and  glorious  deeds  and  the  full 
development  of  man,  except  it  be  such  a  portion  of 
him  as  is  common  to  the  tiger.  These  faculties  were 
well  developed  in  that  age,  and  as  the  fruit  of  their 
exercise,  we  find  numerous  daring  and  heroic  deeds 
that  have  been  made  immortal  by  the  historian  and 
poet.  But  we  have  other  powers  that  need  cultivating 
that  can  never  receive  attention  in  this  stage  of  civili- 
zation. 

Let  us,  then,  witness,  in  our  following  remarks,  the 
manner  in  which  the  unity  of  the  race  is  effected,  and 
man  is  made  to  feel  and  acknowledge  his  common 


156  PHILOSOPHY    OF    REFORM. 

brotherhood.  To  secure  this  is  no  easy  matter,  as  the 
marching  and  countermarching,  the  charging  and 
manoeuvring,  which  Providence  has  caused  in  the 
world  for  this  purpose,  will  show  other  objects  have 
been  effected  and  other  good  secured  in  the  progress 
of  events ;  but  it  would  seem  that  this  is  the  great 
end  to  which  all  things  tend,  until  it  is  gained. 

At  the  coming  of  Christ,  the  world,  as  it  has  ever 
been  in  all  ages,  was  filled  with  a  religion,  but  its 
principles  were  almost  entirely  different  from  those  of 
pure  Christianity.  Very  little,  beyond  a  knowledge 
of  the  true  God,  was  known  in  religious  matters,  and, 
indeed,  this  was  confined  almost  entirely  to  the  Jew- 
ish nation.  Beyond  this  people,  and  to  a  great  extent 
among  them,  this  knowledge  of  God  was  exceedingly 
limited.  They  knew  there  was  one  only  living  and 
true  God,  and  this  was  about  the  extent  of  their 
knowledge.  The  duties  they  owed  to  him,  arising 
from  the  relations  that  existed  between  them,  were 
but  very  little  understood.  Providence  had  been 
dealing  with  the  Jews  as  a  "  chosen  people"  during 
centuries,  for  the  purpose  of  developing  the  princ  iples 
of  moral  government,  and  exhibiting  his  own  charac- 
ter. They  had  been  kept  shut  in  by  themselves  from 
the  surrounding  nations  that  they  might  the  better  be 
instructed  in  the  principles  of  truth  and  justice.  At 
first,  a  theocratic  form  of  government  was  established 
among  them,  and  God  himself  ruled  as  their  earthly 
king  ;  afterwards  prophets  and  holy  men  were  given 
them  as  leaders,  while  they  were  kept  walled  in  from 
the  moral  death  of  the  world,  yet,  at  the  coming  of 
the  Messiah,  they  had  only  learned,  beyond  gainsay- 
ing, that  one  God  made  all  things.     And  when  we 


THE    HISTORY    OF    REFORMATION.  157 

remember  that  this  knowledge  was  far  from  M*| 

uni\ersal,  we  must  conclude  that  the  progress  of  truth 
is  apparently  \  cry  slow. 

No  doubt  this  knowledge  had  affected  the  surround- 
ing nations,  and  the  little  truth  thus  gleaned  had 
somewhat  changed  and  modified  their  former  theories 
and  views  ;  still,  we  find  not  a  single  people,  at  that 
tim<\  who  had  correct  notions  upon  this  or  any  other 
subject  of  morals.  Every  nation  had  its  deities,  but 
they  amounted  to  nothing  more  than  deceased  heroes, 
nearly  upon  a  level  with  themselves,  possessing  but 
a  little  more  power,  and  not  subject  to  death.  The 
God,  whom  an  individual  or  nation  worships,  is  the 
embodiment  of  their  religion  and  morality.  We  must 
therefore  infer  that  the  religion  of  the  nations  of  the 
earth,  at  this  time,  was  false,  and  their  morals  loose. 

The  philosophy  of  the  different  schools,  also,  serves 
us  very  well  to  measure  the  strength  and  extent  of 
the  principles  of  truth  among  the  people.  The  pre- 
vailing systems  were  the  Grecian  and  Oriental.  But 
whoever  will  take  the  pains  to  learn  the  prominent 
characteristics  of  the  various  sects,  or  subdivisions,  of 
these  systems  of  philosophy,  will  find  but  little  truth, 
and  much  error,  folly  and  darkness. 

The  sect  of  which  Plato  was  the  founder  is  by  far 
the  most  true  and  perfect,  yet  his  God  was  destitute 
of  the  attributes  of  omnipresence,  omniscience  and 
omnipotence,  and,  indeed,  of  almost  all  perfections. 
When  we  remember  that,  in  connection  with  this, 
the  morals  of  this  truest  sect  were  exceedingly  loose, 
we  need  say  nothing  of  the  Stoics,  Aristotelians,  Epi- 
curians  and  Academics.  In  regard  to  that  of  the  Ori- 
entals, there  was  much  that  was  true,  but  far  the 
greater  part  was  false.     It  may  be  said,  and  no  more, 


158  PHILOSOPHY    OF    REFORM. 

in  truth,  can  be,  that  at  the  coming  of  Christ  the  world 
had  some  faint  idea  of  the  nature  and  character  of 
God,  and  their  religion,  morals,  theories,  views  and 
governments  were  tinged  with  this  idea. 

In  literature,  some  of  the  then  existing  nations  have 
scarcely  ever  been  equaled,  and  certainly  never  sur- 
passed. In  the  arts  and  sciences,  a  good  degree  of 
perfection  was  obtained  ;  but  the  morals  of  these  same 
nations  would  not  suffer  in  comparison  with  those  of 
the  most  vicious  in  any  uncivilized  portion  of  the 
world.  Many  of  their  habits,  practices  and  customs 
would  put  to  the  blush  the  most  vile  of  our  own  time, 
and  outrage  all  the  feelings  of  humanity.  The  mind 
had  been  aroused,  the  intellect  had  become  somewhat 
educated,  and  the  religion  and  philosophy  of  the  day 
were  able  to  preserve  the  world  from  immediate  de- 
struction ;  but  the  true  conservative,  life-giving  prin- 
ciple was  wanting.  All  their  boasted  wisdom  could 
not  save  them,  and  even  that  was  lost  in  coming  gen- 
erations, being  swept  away  by  the  rushing  torrent  of 
vice  that  their  moral  system  generated. 

Our  Saviour  came.  His  teaching  was  full  and  per- 
fect. He  split  at  once  into  the  very  heart  of  things. 
He  everywhere  exhibited  the  pure  and  unadulterated 
truth.  He  entered  not  into  an  examination  of  the 
philosophy  of  the  schools.  He  stood  aloof  from  that 
arena  of  strife  and  contention,  and  simply  aimed  to 
develop  the  principles  of  truth  as  they  were  practica- 
bly applicable  to  daily  life.  Instead  of  saying  to  his 
followers,  u  This  and  that  scheme  are  false,  strike  thy 
dagger  here,"  he  everywhere  said,  M  Here  is  truth." 
How  it  shone  out  in  his  life,  bright  and  clear  amid 
the  darkness,  chaos,  and  "confusion  worse  con- 
founded" of  the  times  !     His  followers  were  the  only 


THE    HISTORY    OF    REFORMAT  |-|| 

men  in  the  world,  seemingly,  who  were  most  fit  for 
the  work  assigned  them,  being  the  only  class  that  had 
not  run  mad  in  philosophic  speculations,  and  ih< m •- 
fore  the  tmly  class  (hat  would  be  contented  with  facts 
and  truths,  and  not  be  eternally  philosophizing  about 
what  was  vague  and  indefinite.  They  saw  and  felt 
their  own  and  the  world's  wrong,  and  immediai.lv 
set  themselves  about  bringing,  so  far  as  they  could  do 
it,  all  men  to  obedience  to  the  truth — the  starting- 
point  of  all  good.  The  multitude  would  very  natu- 
rally judge  of  the  truth  they  preached  by  what  they 
supposed  to  be  the  truth,  and  hence  inevitably  erred, 
for  they  reasoned  from  wrong  principles.  The  result 
was  the  almost  universal  rejection  of  the  gospel. 
Here  and  there  an  individual,  and,  indeed,  many 
dining  the  life-time  of  the  Apostles  and  their  imme- 
diate predecessors,  saw  and  embraced  the  truth.  But, 
after  all,  it  produced  but  little  if  any  alteration  in  the 
habits  of  thinking  and  acting,  except  among  those 
who  embraced  it.  The  civil  governments,  the  litera- 
ture and  sciences  of  the  day  were  not  perceptibly 
affected.  It  won  its  way,  however,  into  all  parts  of 
the  world,  and  some  few  of  the  nobles  became  obe- 
dient to  the  faith. 

Those  bitter  persecutions  during  the  first  century 
are  undoubted  proof  that  the  principle  of  the  true  re- 
formation had  become  extensively  established.  Its 
influence  began  to  be  felt  and  feared.  There  is  far 
more  in  those  wars  against  the  saints  than  we  at  first 
imagine.  Why  were  the  rulers  so  intent  on  destroy- 
ing the  Church  ?  Remember  their  usual  plea  was, 
"  The  Christians  have  sinned  against  our  laws,  and 
therefore  deserve  to  die."  Can  we  not  perceive  in 
those  fears  their  conviction  of  the  truth  of  religion, 


160  PHILOSOPHY    OF    REFORM. 

and  of  the  falsehood  of  their  governments?  Their 
conclusions  evidently  were,  that  their  civil  institutions 
would  be  revolutionized  or  destroyed  if  this  religious 
belief  were  suffered  to  spread.  The  truth  had  wrought 
out  this  conviction,  and  partially  lighted  up  the  world, 
so  that  men  began  to  see  this  wrong,  and  hence  natu- 
rally to  grasp  it  the  stronger,  as  though  this  struggle 
for  its  defence  would  make  it  truth,  and  also  to  seek 
to  exterminate  the  disciples  of  that  faith  as  their  most 
formidable  enemies.  During  the  first  century,  then, 
the  truth  was  confined  to  those  who  embraced  it,  and 
those  had  but  little  or  no  influence  in  the  affairs  of  the 
world,  or  with  any  but  those  of  their  own  class.  Yet 
it  was  preached  extensively,  and  produced  its  usual 
agitation.  Its  vibrations  in  the  extremities  were  slight ; 
still  they  were  felt.  The  internal  fire  was  kindled, 
and  its  heat  began  to  exhibit  itself  outwardly.  The 
surface,  indeed,  was  not  broken  up,  yet  it  was  shaken, 
and  the  time  was  hastening  when  it  should  upheave 
the  whole  immovable,  sluggish  mass. 

There  were  commotions  and  excitement  enough  to 
produce  schisms  and  heresies,  and  this  was  about  the 
extent.  These  are  usually  the  result  of  truth  break- 
ing in  upon  a  dark  and  chaotic  mass  of  mind.  While 
the  people  regard  the  principles  by  which  they  are 
governed  as  true — and  in  the  estimation  of  all  men 
they  are  so — they  plod  along  in  an  undeviating  course, 
neither  rising  nor  falling,  neither  turning  to  the  right 
nor  left,  without  inventing  any  new  thing,  or  desiring 
it  should  be  done,  contented  and  happy.  But  when 
an  all-wise  Providence  has  caused  the  light  to  beam 
in  upon  the  darkness,  and  their  former  principles,  theo- 
ries and  habits  are  broken  up,  and  everything  is  in 
chaotic  confusion  in  the  consequent  struggle  for  a  foot- 


THE    HISTORY    OF    REFORMATION.  ]61 

hold  and  for  life,  there  will  not  bv  warning  those  who 
will  grasp  a  single  truth  that  appears  floating  in  the 
boiling  chaos  of  society,  and  make  it  the  nucleus  of  ano- 
ther system  that  will  partake  in  many  respects  the  nature 
of  the  former  one,  and  be,  indeed,  but  a  slight  improve- 
ment We  are  naturally  very  benevolent,  and  this 
never-ending  raft-building  spirit,  when  a  ship  is 
wivcked  upon  the  shore,  shows  the  endless  searchings 
of  man  after  truth.  The  greater  the  number  of  schis- 
matics and  heretics,  the  stronger  the  evidence  of  a 
more  general  disruption  of  former  existing  systems. 
This  has  ever  been  the  case,  and  we  have  no  reason 
to  expect  it  will  be  different  until  the  whole  struct  tin 
of  society  is  changed.  Therefore,  heresies  serve  as  a 
good  thermometer  to  test  the  state  of  religion  in  the 
world.  In  the  days  of  the  Apostles,  there  were  those 
who,  broken  up  from  the  foundation  of  existing  sys- 
tems, strove  to  reform  the  world  in  their  own  way. 
Such  was  Hymeneus,  Alexander,  Philetus  and  others, 
but  they  were  small  men,  and  their  influence  was  not 
felt  far  beyond  their  own  immediate  acquaintance. 
But  before  the  century  closed,  and  onward  for  a  length 
of  time,  a  heresy  arose  that  extended  itself  over  the 
whole  land.  We  refer  to  the  Gnostics.  We  include 
in  this  ism  all  who,  in  the  first  ages  of  Christianity, 
attempted  to  unite  the  religion  of  Christ  with  the  phi- 
losophy of  the  times,  or,  adhering  to  the  prevailing 
notions  of  the  day  in  relation  to  the  origin  of  evil  and 
of  the  material  universe,  strove  to  incorporate  into 
their  system  many  of  the  truths  of  the  gospel.  This 
would  naturally  make  their  systems  more  nearly  re- 
semble the  truth,  and  hence  more  dangerous  and  far 
less  objectionable  to  the  dark-minded  people.  The 
poison  was  made  palatable,  and  stripped  of  many  of 


162  PHILOSOPHY    OF    REFORM. 

its  revolting  features.  A  skillfully-arranged  system 
by  the  counterfeit  angel  of  light !  The  previously 
established  principles  of  the  party  permitted  them  to 
admit  Christ  to  be  the  Son  of  God,  or  one  of  the  family 
of  God,  who  was  sent  to  this  world  for  the  good  of 
men;  still,  they  had  wrong  notions  respecting  his  cha- 
racter, and  even  of  the  real  nature  of  his  mission. 
They  supposed  he  came  to  redeem  man  from  the 
power  of  the  genii  who  governed  this  lower  world,  or 
to  rescue  souls  from  the  unhappy  connection  with  ma- 
terial bodies,  for  they  regarded  matter  as  eternal  and 
the  source  of  all  evil.  This,  in  connection  with  the 
fact  that  they  professed  to  restore  to  man  the  lost 
knowledge  of  the  true  and  supreme  God,  must  have 
given  them  great  influence  in  their  day.  This  sect, 
with  their  thousand  subdivisions,  may  be  regarded  as 
the  prevailing  counterfeit  religion  of  that  time.  It 
was  the  embodiment  of  the  world's  opinions  and 
views  of  religious  matters.  Truth  had  made  greater 
advance  than  this,  but  it  was  confined  to  the  believers 
alone.  The  truth  contained  in  this  heresy  is  the 
amount  established  in  the  world.  However  small  this 
may  seem  to  have  been,  yet  a  great  point  was  gained. 
Idolatry  lost  its  power  over  the  human  mind,  and  men 
began  to  have  better  notions  of  God  and  religion. 
They  thought  of  and  investigated  religious  matters 
more,  and  this  was  a  great  gain.  An  unthinking 
mind  can  never  be  enlightened  and  reformed.  We 
had  better  think  wrong  than  not  think  at  all.  This 
was  hope  given  of  better  things  to  come.  The  seed 
had  been  sown.  The  principles  of  reformation  began 
to  produce  fermentation.  Men  had  broken  away 
from  the  old  ways,  but  immediately  embraced  some- 
thing   new.      What  was    the    effect  of   this  heresy 


THE    HISTORY    OF    REFORMATION.  ](Y,\ 

in  further  developing  thr  tint h  ?  To  what  did  it 
lead  I 

These  ancient  philosophers  had  reasoned  as  well  as 
could  be  expected  under  the  circumstances.  They 
believed  this  world  would  be  purified  and  freed  from 
the  power  of  its  Creator,  one  of  the  Pleroma.  They 
looked  also  for  the  overthrow  of  the  empire  this  Crea- 
tor had  established.  They  readily  believed  what  was 
reported  of  Christ,  for  they  were  expecting  such  a 
being.  True,  as  we  have  noticed,  they  had  wrong 
notions  respecting  him,  but  they  can  all  be  traced  to 
erroneous  opinions  previously  settled.  They  were 
regarded  not  as  a  sect  of  philosophers,  but  of  Chris- 
tians. Their  particular  external  character  partook  of 
the  philosophy  of  the  countries  in  which  they  lived. 
Their  variety  was  therefore  endless ;  the  fountain 
was  the  same,  but  the  streams  were  tinged  with  red, 
green  or  blue,  by  the  soil  through  which  they  chanced 
to  run.  The  new  religion  had  produced  a  moral  earth- 
quake. In  this  faint  reason  the  truth  found  its  echo. 
They  reasoned,  but  wrongly.  We  cannot  say  they 
aided  the  cause  of  truth  directly,  but  they  did  assist  in 
turning  the  minds  of  the  people  away  from  former 
systems  to  the  organization  of  the  new.  They  aided 
in  breaking  up  the  calm,  or  the  settled  principles  of 
the  times.  They  existed  as  long  as  they  were  needed. 
Every  system  continues  till  the  times  work  out  some- 
thing worse  or  better,  and  then  dies. 

There  are  other  evidences  of  the  progress  of  the 
truth  during  the  first  ages.  Good  men  wrote  many 
good  books  ;  these  were  read,  and  their  subjects  inves- 
tigated. Some  of  them  were  written  to  apologize  for, 
or  defend  the  Christians,  before  persecuting  emperors. 
The  time  had  been  when  this  would  not  have  been 


164  PHILOSOPHY    OF    REFORM. 

allowed — when,  though  few,  all  Christians  worshiped 
God  in  caves  and  dens  of  the  earth.  But  men  began 
to  be  fearless.  The  power  of  truth  was  beginning  to 
be  felt  on  the  human  heart,  and  it  was  fixing  itself 
there,  as  an  anchor  is  fastened  into  the  rocks  before 
the  storm  strikes  the  vessel.  Truth  will  make  error- 
men  quail,  for  error  is  weak  ;  and  when  the  inner  man 
has  seen  the  truth  and  felt  it,  the  outward  declaration 
finds  its  counterpart  there.  An  entirely  ignorant  mind 
may  fight  the  truth,  but  not  a  partially  enlightened 
one,  always  ! 

The  multiplication  of  ceremonies  in  religious  wor- 
ship may  be  taken  as  evidence  that  the  truth  had  par- 
tially saturated  the  whole  system  of  society.  Its  ray 
was  dim  indeed — a  faint,  trembling  beam — yet  it  was 
seen  as  a  silver  thread  of  light  running  through  the 
thick  darkness  in  every  direction.  We  admit  it  to 
be  a  temporizing  spirit — mere  worldly  policy — that 
caused  this  increase  of  pomp  and  show.  The  object, 
doubtless,  was  to  barter  away  the  gospel,  and  at  prices 
to  suit  purchasers.  It  was  received  and  regarded  as 
the  true  gospel,  but  it  was  not,  as  the  end  proved. 
Yet  it  possessed  much  truth,  and  the  purchaser  took  it, 
truth  and  all.  The  Christian  religion  was  too  simple 
for  those  who  had  been  idolaters  all  their  lives.  They 
required  something  more  showy  and  brilliant.  They 
wanted  temples,  altars,  priests,  pomp  and  show,  and 
the  doctors  granted  all  they  desired.  When,  in  the 
world's  history,  was  there  ever  a  demand  that  was  not 
met  by  a  full  supply,  even  if  it  were  for  the  veriest  sem- 
blance 1 

That  system  of  mysticism,  so  prevalent  in  the  East, 
had  prepared  the  mind  for  something  deep,  strange 
and  unintelligible  ;  and  hence,  in  embracing  religion, 


THE    HISTORY    OF    REFORMATION.  165 

men  demanded  something  that  should  indicate  M 
tery  and  greatness,  even  though  it  were  strange.  A 
kind  of  wild  lameness  and  mad  rationality  fills  the 
mind  that  has  just  awoke  from  the  sleep  of  ages ! 
This  argues  something  noble  and  heroic  in  human 
nature,  if  not  good  culture  and  strength.  In  those 
early  days  most  of  the  instruction  was  imparted  by 
images,  pictures,  signs  and  emblems.  In  this  way 
the  Christians,  conforming  to  the  general  usage,  very 
naturally  inculcated  truthby  representations— hence, 
ceremonies  were  multiplied.  Had  the  truth  been  con- 
fined to  but  few,  or  to  many  whose  influence  was 
inconsiderable,  there  would  have  been  no  call  or  rea- 
son for  the  introduction  and  multiplication  of  ceremo- 
nies in  the  Church  in  the  second  century. 

When  Origen  arose  persecutions  had  become  unpop- 
ular, and  the  enemy  strove  to  effect  by  wiles  and  strat- 
egem  what  he  could  not  by  open  war.  Probably  no 
man  ever  lived  whose  influence  was  more  extensive 
for  many  years,  and  we  may  say  for  all  time,  than 
was  that  of  this  man.  He  was  a  genius,  but  he  lacked 
clear  discernment  and  sound  judgment.  He  embraced 
the  Platonic  philosophy,  and  his  teaching  is  highly 
colored  with  its  principles.  His  views  were  received 
extensively  in  his  life  and  after  his  death,  and  though 
his  doctrines  were  interdicted  by  emperors,  they  were 
often  revered  and  embraced  in  spite  of  them.  His 
teaching  was  rather  visionary  than  solid — more  con- 
formed to  the  philosophy  of  the  times  than  to  the 
Bible.  His  efforts,  and  those  of  his  contemporaries, 
were  more  for  triumph  than  for  truth.  There  was, 
however,  an  evident  improvement  upon  past  time. 
The  people  thought  deeper  and  clearer.  Time  passed 
on.     Here  and  there  a  sharp  contention  on  some  point 


166  PHILOSOPHY    OF    REFORM. 

of  doctrine,  and  now  and  then  a  reformer,  like  Manes 
of  Persia,  arose,  until  the  world  was  prepared  for  the 
coming  of  Constantine. 

This  man  lived,  just  as  every  other  leader  has  done 
before  he  takes  his  position  at  the  head  of  the  world's 
affairs,  in  preparation  for  future  labors.  He  was  made 
up  of  what  the  world  at  that  time  contained,  both  spirit- 
ually and  politically.  His  thoughts,  words  and  actions, 
were  just  what  the  world  thought,  and  had  been  say- 
ing and  doing.  This  is  true  of  all  great  men.  The 
times  make  them.  They  are  the  embodied  or  articu- 
lated truth  and  error  of  the  day.  It  may  take  a  long 
while  for  "  the  times"  to  make  such  a  one  as  him^ 
or  such  as  Mahomet,  or  Cromwell,  or  Luther,  or 
Washington.  Times  and  ages  are  so  nearly  similar, 
that  it  requires  a  long  period  to  find  material  of  which  to 
make  a  great  man,  unless  they  are  made  to  look  just 
like  other  great  men.  This  is  not  needful ;  and,  indeed, 
there  are  but  a  very  few  occasions  demanding  great 
men,  and  most  certainly  nature  never  made  a  needless 
thing.  It  is  not  true  that  "  the  times  "  have  been  call- 
ing, and  are  still  calling,  for.  some  great  man  to  come 
forth  to  still  the  warring  elements,  and,  pointing  the 
world  to  its  destiny,  cry  "  here  is  the  path  !"  If  so, 
he  is  forthcoming,  and  we  shall  soon  hear  his  voice 
above  all  the  outward  din,  as  he  is  leading  the  world 
up  towards  the  temple  of  all  excellence.  We  have  not 
yet  obtained  all  that  has  been  bequeathed  to  us  from  the 
truth  developed  by  former  great  men — their  systems 
are  not  yet  worn  out.  When  they  are,  they  will  be 
abandoned,  and  the  world  will  demand  and  obtain 
another  leader  or  reformer.  One  thing  is  true — all 
great  men,  in  the  sense  we  have  used  the  term,  are 
the  times  incarnated.     We  have  never  seen  a  perfect 


THE    HISTORY    OF    REFORMATION.  167 

man.  The  times  have  never  made  one.  Should 
lk  the  times"  ever  become  perfect,  their  perfection  will 
be  exhibited  in  the  existence  of  B  pel  feet  man. 

Constantine  possessed  a  noble,  honest,  and  sincere 
heart,  a  little  superftidoufl — so  all  men  were  at  that 
day,  and  most  men  are  at  the  present.  That  great  cross 
in  the  heavens  was  doubtless  all  fancy,  but  it  was  all 
reality  to  him.  He  never  could  forget  that.  It  always 
gave  him  courage  and  strength.  "  By  this  conquer," 
endowed  him  with  invincible  energy  and  overcoming 
faith.  What  if  he  was  not  baptized  until  his  death, 
this  is  no  proof  that  he  was  not  a  sincere  Christian  in 
his  way ;  for  not  a  few,  at  that  day,  put  oft*  this  duty 
till  the  hour  of  death,  because  they  thought  by  so 
doing  they  would  enter  pure  into  the  presence  of 
God. 

The  Church  had  peace  from  henceforth.  But  how 
did  she  spread  so  rapidly?  How  were  whole  nations 
Christianized  with  apparently  so  little  difficulty  ? 
Rome  had  become  the  mistress  of  the  world.  She 
was  feared  and  flattered,  and  her  smiles  were  courted. 
This  alone,  would  induce  many  to  embrace  Christian- 
ity. The  ministers  of  religion  were  faithful  also. 
There  were  those  who  led  devout  and  holy  lives,  and 
they  made  every  exertion  to  convert  the  nations  to  the 
truth,  by  translating  the  Bible  and  preaching  its  truths. 
The  leaven  of  truth  had  penetrated  the  entire  mass. 
Men  had  lost  confidence  in  idolatry.  A  few  of  the 
beautiful  outlines  of  religion  were  visible.  Its  utility 
and  necessity  were  seen  and  acknowledged.  These, 
with  the  other  enumerated  reasons,  show  the  ease 
with  which  whole  nations  were  converted  to  Christi- 
anity, while  but  little  of  vital  piety  existed  in  the 
world.  Thus  men  became  Christians  without  a 
8 


168  PHILOSOPHY    OF    REFORM. 

change  of  heart.  They  were  converted  to  the  exter- 
nals of  religion,  and  that  was  all.  The  Church  thus 
spread  over  a  vast  surface.  Much  rubbish  was 
gathered,  therefore  we  see  how  natural  for  this  mass 
to  become  corrupt  \  and,  in  the-  jumble  and  turmoil 
which  was  caused  by  an  effort  for  purification,  heresies 
arose  and  spread. 

The  decision  of  the  Council  of  Nice  exhibits  to  us 
the  fact,  that  those  who  managed  affairs  at  that  time 
were  defenders  of  the  truth  intellectually,  if  not  in 
their  hearts.  The  heresy  it  endeavored  to  destroy  is 
still  alive.  It  sprung  up  as  though  it  were  indigenous 
to  every  soil.  In  fact,  it  was  indigenous ;  for  the 
depraved  soil  of  the  human  heart  is  the  same  every- 
where. This  ism  divided  itself  into  a  thousand  others, 
just  as  every  other  wrong  ism,  in  any  time,  has  done 
and  will  do.  There  is  nothing  stable,  or  safe,  or  sat- 
isfactory, in  error,  for  it  has  no  foundation.  Why 
should  not  men  of  this  character,  therefore,  be  con- 
stantly casting  about  for  new  foothold. 

It  may  be  supposed,  from  what  has  been  said,  that 
there  were  no  true  reformers,  or  true  religion,  but  that 
all  was  merged  in  what  was  then  called  the  Church. 
This  is  not  true.  Christ  has  had  true  witnesses,  and 
religion  true  defenders,  since  the  days  of  the  Apostles. 
The  true  light  has  never  been  put  out,  neither  merged 
in  Mother  Church.  We  have  evidence  of  the  Church 
at  Rome  beginning  to  degenerate  as  early  as  a.  d.  250, 
in  the  controversy  concerning  the  bishopric  of  Rome 
between  Cornelius  and  Novatian.  This  controversy 
was  about  the  purity  of  communion,  and  discipline  in 
the  Church.  Novatian  may  be  regarded  the  first  ec- 
clesiastical reformer.  His  party,  called  Puritans,  con- 
tinued  about   two    hundred   years,   and   were    then 


Till;    HISTORY     OF    KJ  [£Q 

in  (he  DonatisUy  Paulicians9  Waldenscs  and 
Jilbigenscs,  who  were  called  heretics.  Th<\  i 
die  errors  of  the  times,  and  were  the  stem  defcnjdtfl 
of  the  truth  ;  ami  it'  tlicy  do  not  form  a  rhaiuicl 
through  which  the  apostolic  succession  has  been 
brought  down  to  us,  they  do  the  highway,  ou  which 
the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus  has  ever  been  exhibited  and 
defended. 

Rome  began  to  fall  to  pieces.  She  had  attained  to 
universal  rule.  She  had  been  prosperous  and  power- 
ful. She  had  conquered  and  established  many  king- 
doms. But  it  should  be  remembered,  as  we  have 
already  shown,  that  tin  v  were  mil  hing  more  than  single 
cities, enjoying  all  the  rightsand  privileges  of  indi\  idaeJ 
governments.  As  such,  they  were  a  part  of  the  Ro- 
man empire.  They  had  perfected  and  established  the 
system  of  municipal  government.  Beyond  this  they 
had  no  experience.  They  had  neither  learned  the 
principle  of  personal  liberty,  nor  of  universal  unity. 
Therefore,  in  the  various  expedients  to  which  Rome 
resorted  to  secure  herself  against  destruction  when  a 
practical  knowledge  of  these  principles  was  indispen- 
sable, she  signally  failed.  She  was  divided  into  her 
original  elements  and  scattered.  In  her  life  she 
wrought,  and  in  her  death  bequeathed  to  the  world, 
the  principle  of  municipal  corporations,  together  with 
its  regulations  and  principles  of  liberty,  and  the  idea 
of  absolute  power. 

The  Church  as  arj  organization,  as  we  have  seen, 
having  become  almost  universal,  it  was  quite  natural 
when  Rome  fell,  and  the  officers  of  the  city  corporation 
had  sunk  into  insignificance,  for  the  clergy,  who  it  would 
seem  were  the*  only  individuals  fit  for  the  work,  to  be 
installed  in  the  same  office.     This  gave  the  C lunch 


170  PHILOSOPHY    OF    REFORM. 

increased  influence,  and  aided  greatly  in  imparting  to 
the  civil  governments  of  the  world  the  principle  of 
morality.  Although  the  Church  was  far  from  being 
pure  in  this  respect,  she  did  possess  a  moral  influence 
at  that  time  which  was  greatly  needed  in  conducting 
the  temporal  affairs  of  the  people. 

We  see,  therefore,  by  an  overruling  Providence  the 
cause  of  truth  has  been  protected,  and  from  the  small- 
est beginnings  spread  over  the  world — not  having 
wholly  saturated  it,  but  become  partially  diffused,  so 
that  its  sensations,  though  slight,  are  felt  through  the 
whole  system— and  now  mingled  with  the  civil  insti- 
tutions as  their  conservative  power.  All  this  has  been 
gained  in  the  space  of  a  few  hundred  years.  As  meagre 
and  partial  as  our  sketch  is,  it  will  not  fail  to  exhibit 
an  intimate  connection  between  all  the  events  in  the 
case,  and-  their  important  bearing  upon  the  result  re- 
ferred to. 

.  There  are  other  ingredients  necessary  to  be  mingled 
in  human  society  before  it  can  be  fully  perfected,  that 
do  not  exist  at  the  period  under  consideration.  Here, 
then,  the  world  is  left  to  flounder  along  under  its  spir- 
itual guides,  while  an  all-wise  Providence  is  preparing 
to  develop  another  feature  of  human  nature,  in  order 
to  give  balance  to  the  mind,  and  ultimately  secure  its 
full  development. 

Those  barbarians  who  conquered  Rome  were  a  rude, 
savage  people  ;  yet  it  is  doubtful  whether  the  world 
would  ever  have  obtained  the  idea  of  personal  liberty, 
and  the  Church  the  liberty  of  conscience,  had  they 
never  existed.  They  were  wild,  hard  and  independent. 
Freedom,  personal  freedom,  was  their  passion — their 
life.  They  had  enjoyed  a  life  of  adventure  and  enter- 
prise without  the  control  or  restraints  of  the  rules  and 


THE    HISTORY    OF    REFORMATION.  171 

regulations  of  civili/» d  litis  Like  (he  child  of  nature 
who  has  been  rocked  in  her  bosom  and  grown  tip  in 
her  pathless  forest,  and  upon  her  swifl-runuin 
they  were  honest  and  upright  in  heart,  and  independ- 
ent. They  knew  or  felt  but  little  beyond  the  fuct  that 
they  were  men.  On  the  consciousness  of  their  own 
inherent  worth  and  dignity  they  relied  in  every  case. 
All  their  systems  bear  this  impress.  This  formed  the 
connecting  link  between  them,  and  gave  them  faith 
and  confidence  in  each  other.  They  neither  felt  nor 
acknowledged  any  obligations  arising  from  the  general 
principles  of  society.  They  knew  man  as  man,  and 
as  such  they  loved  and  served  him.  The  Roman  was 
attached  to  the  city,  and  the  obligations  arising  from 
that  relation  he  acknowledged  and  obeyed.  But  the 
doctrines  of  personal  freedom  had  never  been  enter- 
tained by  him.  He  had  learned  to  prize  the  lib- 
erty of  a  citizen,  but  of  the  liberty  of  self  he  had 
never  dreamed.  Neither  was  this  sentiment  known 
in  the  Christian  Church.  The  members  felt  an  at- 
tachment to  the  Church  itself,  and  its  laws,  and  to  its 
extension  they  were  ardently- devoted,  but  they  never 
troubled  themselves  about  personal  liberty — all  they 
sought  or.desired  was  the  liberty  to  do  as  the  Church 
required.  It  is  to  the  barbarians  that  we  are  indebted 
for  this  principle,  who  introduced  it  in  mingling  with 
the  people  they  conquered. 

The  Church,  also,  for  the  purpose  of  effectually 
defending  itself  against  these  barbarians,  undertook 
the  separation  of  temporal  and  spiritual  authority. 
Thus,  unintentionally  no  doubt,  it  laid  the  ground- 
work of  the  liberty  of  conscience  for  which  the  world 
has  so  long  struggled,  and  which  we  so  highly  prize. 
The  Church  was  obliged  to  contend  that  brute  force 


172  PHILOSOPHY    OF    REFORM. 

has  no  authority  over  the  mind  ;  and,  however  wrong 
her  motive,  she  developed  a  principle  more  precious  to 
the  world  than  all  its  gold. 

How  rapidly  these  barbarians  became  Christians, 
when  they  had  conquered  Rome !  Various  reasons 
urged  them  to  this  change.  Some  were  influenced  by 
the  expectation  of  gain,  others  by  the  hope  that  Christ, 
the  God  of  the  Romans,  who,  they  had  learned,  was 
immensely  powerful,  would  aid  them  in  extending 
their  dominions,  and  still  others  by  the  hope  of  thus 
being  better  able  to  govern  those  Christians  whom  they 
had  conquered.  But  perhaps  the  self-denying  labors 
of  good  men  prepared  the  mind  for  this  change  more 
than  anything  else. 

They  considered  military  exploits  and  courage  as 
the  only  source  of  glory  and  virtue,  hence  they  despised 
and  rejected  all  learning.  The  people  thus  became 
superstitious,  and  ignorance  gained  the  ascendency. 
They  were  preparing  for  what  followed,  viz.,  to  be- 
come the  dupes  and  tools  of  a  few  designing  men. 

A  few  great  and  important  truths  were  wrought  out 
amid  the  turmoil  and  confusion  of  the  first  centuries. 
These  truths  remained,  while  the  world  was  led  through 
a  different  route  to  work  out  others,  so  as  to  be  able, 
eventually,  to  form  a  system  of  good  proportions  and 
beautiful  symmetry,  of  great  strength  and  durability. 
The  doctrines  concerning  Christ,  his  person  and  nature ; 
human  depravity ;  the  natural  attributes  of  God  ;  the 
necessity  of  Divine  grace  to  salvation ;  human  liberty ; 
the  adaptation  of  the  gospel  to  meet  the  wants  of  men, 
under  all  circumstances,  and  a  conviction  in  favor  of 
the  general  principles  of  religion,  were  established. 
The  world  has  never  gone  back  from  them,  and  we 
have  no  idea  it  ever  will.     The  mass  may  have  lost 


THE    HISTORY    OF    REFORMATION.  173 

sight  of  them,  at  times,  Mill  there  have  heen  those  who 
won  III  preach  and  defend  them.  They  have  ever 
served  as  the  strong  foothold  of  the  reformer,  and  as 
guides  to  the  wanderer  in  the  darkest  hour.  They 
were  established  thinly  in  the  heart  of  the  world,  and 
when  they  are  repeated,  they  will  produce  a  vibra- 
tion that  will  be  felt,  and  they  must  and  will  be  lis- 
tened to. 

Everything,  at  this  time,  indicates  the  preparation 
of  the  world  for  the  gathering  the  Church  into  one 
great  brotherhood,  and  her  being  ruled  by  men  who 
claimed  the  right  to  dictate  in  civil  as  well  as  ecclesi- 
astical affairs.  There  was  an  evident  disposition  among 
the  people  to  listen  to  the  Bishop  that  could  not  be 
checked  by  the  strong  efforts  of  the  emperors.  The 
empire  existed,  but  it  had  become  a  perfect  falsity — it 
did  not  exist  naturally.  It  was  rapidly  dying,  and  the 
priests  were  the  only  men  of  sufficient  courage  and 
strength  to  take  the  rule.  It  is  an  unalterable  law  of 
our  nature,  to  obey  those  who  alone  have  the  power 
and  disposition  to  give  and  sustain  the  best  laws.  The 
authority  of  the  officers  of  the  city  corporations  was 
nearly  extinct,  and  the  officers  of  the  Church  were 
preparing  to  take  their  place,  by  a  natural  process. 
The  increase  of  priests  and  canonized  saints,  who,  by 
the  way,  were  men  but  little  above  the  mass  around 
them  in  skill  and  tact  in  managing  affairs — a  little  more 
learned  and  wise — is  proof  of  the  deep  and  consummate 
ignorance  of  the  people.  This,  with  the  increase  of 
mysticism  and  the  state  of  things  just  noticed,  confirm 
the  opinion  that  the  world  was  now  prepared  for  the 
creation  of  those  Patriarchs  who  existed  in  different  dis- 
tricts, and  who  ruled  the  people  on  their  own  authority. 
Thus  rivalry,    ambition,  dissensions  and  contentions 


174  PHILOSOPHY    OF    REFORM. 

tended  to  undermine,  and  eventually  destroy,  the  power 
of  each  other,  and  in  this  way  prepare  the  way  for  the 
whole  to  be  concentrated  in  a  single  ruler.  This  was 
the  result,  and  the  Pope  was  declared  the  head  of  civil 
and  spiritual  affairs. 

Those  different  councils  at  Carthage  and  Ephesus, 
that  Pelagian  controversy,  are  signs  of  the  unstable 
state  of  things,  and  the  chaos  that  began  to  be  seen, 
and  also  indications  of  life  that  did  really  exist.  Dur- 
ing the  sixth  century  the  darkness  became  visible. 
True,  many  nations  were  converted  to  Christianity, 
yet  it  was  through  the  influence  of  those  kings  who 
acted  from  interested  motives.  The  people  were  al- 
lowed to  worship  the  image  of  Christ,  while  nothing 
was  demanded  of  them  crossing  to  their  inclinations, 
and. were  therefore  rarely  induced  to  abandon  their 
former  idol  worship,  the  offering  of  sacrifices,  and  to 
believe  in  the  existence  of  Christ,  the  then  popular 
God  of  the  world. 

Whatever  of  learning  existed  was  confined  to  the 
priests,  and  all  this  for  the  very  good  reason  that  the 
poor,  superstitious  and  ignorant  people  had  surrendered 
the  keeping  of  their  souls  and  bodies  to  the  Church. 
Neither  were  they  as  much  to  blame  as  they  would  at 
first  seem.  They  were  ignorant  of  the  sentiment  of 
personal  liberty,  and,  indeed,  had  this  not  been  the 
case,  they  were  too  ignorant  in  everything,  for  an  en- 
lightened system  of  self-government.  They  were  at- 
tached to  their  cities,  and  the  Roman  government  had 
made  them  feel  the  need  of  some  power  to  rule  them, 
and  that  was  a  falsity;  therefore,  as  the  only  resource, 
they  threw  themselves  upon  the  Church  for  protection 
and  direction.  There  was  no  very  urgent  reason  for 
the  priests  to  study,  in  this  state  of  things,  so  that 


THE    HISTORY    OF    REFORMATION.  175 

among  them  learning  soon  horauir  almosi  rxtinrt. 
Their  theological  knowledge  was  all  vajjnr  and  indof- 
inite.  The  leaders  became  blind,  leading  a  blind 
people. 

How  natural,  in  such  a  state  of  things,  for  the  Bishops 
of  Rome  and  Constantinople,  who,  by  their  artifice  and 
untiring  zeal,  had  gained  great  influence  and  power, 
to  strive  for  universal  power.  They  were  sternly  and 
strenuously  opposed  by  the  civil  rulers,  but  what  of 
that;  their  great  wealth,  and  the  superstition  of  the 
people,  gave  them  decided  advantage  in  every  contest. 
Hence,  in  whatever  light  we  view  the  manner  in  which 
the  Church  succeeded  in  gaining  the  entire  ascendency 
in  the  affairt  of  the  world,  we  must  acknowledge  it 
was  natural,  and  that  apparently  nothing  else  could 
have  been  adopted. 

The  prominent  heresies  that  had  troubled  the  Church 
had  now  become  nearly  extinct.  They  had  been 
swallowed  up  in  the  Church.  A  few  minor  schisms 
prevailed,  to  a  limited  extent,  but  there  was  not  life 
enough  in  the  system  to  create  extensive  ones.  Here- 
sies are  the  fruit  of  individual  opinion  under  circum- 
stances already  mentioned.  They  cannot  exist  except 
when  men  think  for  themselves.  A  dead  Church  will 
never  be  troubled  with  them.  Neither,  in  a  calm,  pure 
life,  will  they  be  found,  but  they  are  generated  rapidly 
in  the  fermentation  that  is  produced  by  the  truth  mixing 
up  with  error.  Men  are  thrown  into  positions  then 
that  will  call  forth  the  most  mighty  and  splendid  efforts. 
Some  of  the  noblest  developments  of  intellect  that  the 
world  has  ever  seen,  have  been  wrought  out  at  such 
periods.  Heresies,  and  the  propagation  of  error,  are 
ever  to  be  deplored,  still  they  will  ever  exist  when  men 
come  to  think  independently,  after  a  long  space  of 
8* 


176  PHILOSOPHY    OF    REFORM. 

mental  slavery.  Wretched,  indeed,  is  that  state  of 
the  Church,  when  there  is  no  one  to  question  her  merits 
and  doctrines.     This  is  a  sure  evidence  of  death. 

The  Roman  Bishop  was  proclaimed  the  head  of  all 
the  Church  by  an  almost  universal  acclamation.  It 
was  not  so  easy  for  him  to  obtain  the  reins  of  civil 
government.  Indeed,  it  was  a  long  time  before  he 
assumed  the  right  to  the  temporal  as  well  as  the  spir- 
itual rule,  and  still  longer  before  he  was  allowed  his 
claims,  yet  he  was  not  hindered  so  much  by  the  people, 
who  little  knew  or  cared  what  was  done,  as  by  the 
emperors,  who  were  interested  in  keeping  up  their 
authority.  In  fact,  the  Roman  Bishop  only  succeeded 
at  first  in  being  proclaimed  superior  in  dignity  and  rank 
to  the  one  at  Constantinople,  which  was  afterwards 
construed  to  mean  universal  power.  Yet  after  all, 
when  he  came  to  assume  this  station,  it  was  with  the 
universal  consent.  The  old  system  had  been  worn 
out  and  thrown  away,  and  this  was  received  in  its 
place. 

In  another  portion  of  the  world,  amid  the  wild  and 
warlike  Arabs,  a  revolution  in  moral  and  religious 
sentiments  was  effected  not  far  from  this  time.  Ma- 
homet learned  a  great  deal  of  truth  in  Persia,  of  the 
wise  men,  and  some  error.  He  preached  and  published 
his  system  when  he  had  perfected  it,  and  even  forced 
it  through  his  nation.  His  followers  were  compelled 
to  think  as  well  as  believe,  yet  they  have  thought  no 
further  in  any  direction  than  he  did.  This  is  strange  ! 
Why  have  they  not  been  burst  up  long  ago,  and  more 
good  come  out  of  them  than  we  find  ?  They  embraced 
their  system,  and  have  since  been  left  to  enjoy  it. 
Their  fprm  of  government,  religion  and  position  in  the 
ivorJd  have  kept,  them  walled  in  from  the  rest  of  man- 


THE    HISTOKY    OF    REFORMATION.  177 

kind.     They  will  yet  be  reached  in  the  progress  of 
truth,  and    1»<«  overhauled  and  reformed. 

Here,  then,  we  find  the  world  at  the  close  of  the 
seventh  century,  converted  to  Christianity,  with  only 
here  and  there  a  true  believer.  The  truth  had  pene- 
trated the  whole  structure  of  society,  and  its  influence 
began  to  be  felt  in  moulding  and  directing  every  sys- 
tem. The  minds  of  men  were  but  partially  developed, 
so  that  it  was  impossible  for  it  to  produce  all  the  effect 
it  otherwise  would.  The  movement  appears  to  have 
been  rather  to  develop  and  prepare  the  means  for 
this  purpose,  than  to  seek  directly  to  conform  them 
to  truth.  Everything  in  the  civil  and  spiritual  world 
has  tended  to  bring  about  these  results.  Providence 
is  to  manage  differently  with  the  world  than  in  any 
former  time.  His  plans  are  laid  in  wisdom  and  right- 
eousness. Let  us  watch  his  movements  for  the  next 
few  centuries,  as  they  are  recorded  upon  the  page  of 
history. 


CHAPTER  VIII 


THE    HISTORY    OF    REFORMATION    CONTINUED. 

The  active  state  of  the  principle  of  reformation — The  time  for  reforma- 
tion not  yet  come — The  chaos  of  the  world — "World  disgusted  with 
spiritual  tyranny — Apostolic  succession — Rome  and  her  will— Feudal- 
ism— Effects  of  the  Crusades — Men's  habits  and  feelings  changed — 
The  mind  emancipated — Learning  revived — Truth  working  out. 

The  progress  of  truth  during  the  middle  ages  will 
claim  our  attention  in  this  chapter.  This  period  has 
been  called  the  world's  "  dark  age" — an  age  when 
the  light  of  truth  went  out,  or  lay  buried  under  the 
errors  of  men. 

An  age  when  the  light  of  truth  shines  not,  when 
there  is  no  light  from  science  or  literature,  none  from 
learning,  or  virtue,  or  morality,  none  anywhere,  must 
indeed  be  a  dark  age.  Was  such  the  character  of  the 
middle  ages  1 

There  may  be  fire  raging  in  the  bowels  of  the  earth 
when  no  light  appears  on  the  surface.  Still,  there  is 
light  there  in  abundance — at  least,  the  materials  of 
light,  if  you  can  only  reach  them.  It  has  been  gene- 
rating for  years,  and  when  the  raging  element  breaks 
up  the  earth's  crust,  and  pours  out  the  accumulated 
mass  of  lava,  there  is  light  then  to  scatter  the  dark- 
ness, though  the  world  were  wrapped  in  seven-fold 
clouds. 

We  suspect,  were  these  middle  ages  examined  crit- 
ically  and  closely,  they  would  be  found  to  be  the 


Tin:    mSTORY    OT    REFORMATION.  179 

middle  of  the  inner  world  on  fire — a  chaotic  mass  of 
rubbish,  or  when  all  the  elements  of  existing  \\  Mcms 
were  in  the  smelting-furnace.  Now  and  then  a  bright 
flame  shot  up,  tinging  with  light  the  black,  heavy 
clouds  that  were  rolling  gloomily  over  the  earth,  soon, 
however,  to  disappear,  and  leave  the  darkness  visible. 
There  was,  indeed,  here  and  there  a  good  man,  even 
at  that  time— enough,  at  least,  like  the  Pharos  in  the 
bay  of  Alexandria,  to  telegraph  the  truth  from  genera- 
tion to  generation.  The  crater  was  not  sufficiently 
large  to  admit  of  a  full  discharge  of  all  that  was  boil- 
ing up  within.  In  fact,  the  time  had  not  come  for 
this ;  but  there  were  light,  and  smoke,  and  broken 
rocks,  and  suffocating  gas  enough  emitted  to  make  it 
evident  to  us  that  there  was  life  there.  If  the  surface 
was  barren — if  the  bright  and  beautiful  flowers  of 
literature,  and  science  and  virtue  were  withered  and 
trampled  in  the  dust — there  was  still  heat  amid  the 
rubbish,  after  all.  Those  cold  death -damps  of  igno- 
rance, and  poisonous  streams  of  vice,  are  proof  of  the 
corruption  of  almost  the  entire  system ;  yet  there  are 
other  facts  that  cannot  be  accounted  for  on  any  other 
supposition  than  that  there  was  some  soundness. 

Men  did  think — at  least,  a  few — in  those  dark  times, 
and  soundly  too,  considering  all  things.  They  did 
not  dare  express  their  thoughts  and  convictions  as 
freely  and  fully  as  we  Americans,  who  have  purchased 
this  freedom  with  our  blood  ;  yet  they  thought,  never- 
theless, and  fully  believed  that  tyranny  and  oppression 
were  wrong,  though  they  submitted  to  it.  The  great 
difficulty  was,  no  one  dare  push  his  thoughts  out 
among  men,  and  reduce  to  practice  what  he  knew  to 
be  right.  The  men  of  those  days  were  not  sinners 
above   many  of  the  timid   souls   of  modern   times. 


180  PHILOSOPHY    OF    REFORM.      . 

There  was  no  master-spirit  to  embody  the  right 
thoughts  and  principles  of  the  times,  and  lead  out  the 
world  against  error  and  wrong.  Indeed,  the  time  had 
not  come  for  this.  Men,  and  society  at  large,  are 
opposed  to  such  action  ;  it  is  too  rough  and  boisterous 
for  the  mind  of  the  world,  that  naturally  seeks  calm- 
ness and  repose.  We  are  a  system-making  world, 
and  love  regularity,  constancy  and  evenness.  The 
times,  not  nature,  make  men  restless.  Even  when 
the  quiet  is  broken  up,  and  the  consequent  chaotic 
mass  is  heaving  like  the  ocean  under  a  heavy  storm, 
those  angry  and  breaking  waves  are  but  the  effort  of  na- 
ture to  find  her  level  again  in  the  deep  sea — her  own 
quiet  and  repose.  Here  is  the  world  gathered  upon 
an  extended  plain,  swaying  to  and  fro,  and  rocking 
like  the  earth  when  struck  by  the  last  storm,  and 
writhing  in  despair  in  view  of  some  impending  judg- 
ment. Their  peace  and  quiet  have  been  broken  up 
by  the  thunders  of  heaven,  or  by  the  bright  corrusca- 
tions  of  its  lightnings  as  they  stream  along  the  dark- 
ened sky.  What  seek  this-  people  ?  The  why  and 
wherefore  of  their  fear,  and  a  remedy,  a  rock  or  foot- 
hold in  the  trembling,  receding  earth  !  "  Lift  us  up," 
they  cry,  "  from  sinking  in  the  opening  gulf,  and 
plant  our  feet  on  higher,  firmer  ground ;  give  us  sta- 
bility, quiet  and  repose  !"  Let  this  be  granted,  and 
each  man  goes  about  his  own  work  contentedly.  The 
mind,  enlightened,  possesses  a  restlessness,  arising  from 
its  desire  for  its  own  development  and  expansion,  that 
can  never  be  quieted,  but  it  is  a  regular  and  methodi- 
cal restlessness,  not  the  wild  ravings  of  despair  pro- 
duced by  the  mind's  floundering  in  chaos. 

Men  could  see,  and  hear,  and  feel,  and  reason,  but 
they  were  held  back  from  all  outward  action  by  the 


mi;    history  of   reformation.  131 

nightman'  spell  of  (he  age.  The  food  was  within  then 
reach — they  saw  it,  craved  it,  and  sought  it,  but  could 
not  reach  it.  Now  and  then  an  individual  stretched 
forth  his  hand  to  take  it,  but  the  pontiff's  wand  with- 
ered it. 

Everything  was  jumbled  together  in  this  age.  It 
had  been  different  in  former  times.  Among  the  an- 
cients everything  had  been  cast  in  the  same  mould 
and  stereotyped,  and  thus  handed  down  from  sire  to 
son.  A  single  thought  became  uppermost,  took  shape 
to  itself,  and  a  system  was  thus  formed  that  was  fol- 
lowed obediently.  Nothing  farther  was  sought  for;  to 
them,  that  was  perfection.  All  their  energies  were 
taxed  to  sustain  it,  and  from  it  they  hoped  to  obtain 
every  needed  blessing.  But  in  this  age,  the  temporal 
and  spiritual  powers  ;  the  theocratic,  democratic,  aris- 
tocratic and  monarchal  systems;  all  the  social  ele- 
ments ;  every  class  of  society,  and  almost  everything, 
was  thrown  in  together,  and  thus  a  perfectly  jumbled 
compound  was  created.  No  one  idea  or  truth  was 
sufficiently  prominent  or  strong  to  overcome  the  rest, 
and  take  the  lead.  Some  truths  had  been  wrought 
out  and  established,  but  even  these  were  boiling  up 
with  the  rest.  Men  dare  not  follow  them  out,  lest  they 
should  run  into  a  thousand  difficulties,  harder  to  be 
encountered  than  their  present  ills. 

Truly,  a  strange,  heaving  compound  this,  where 
nothing  was  prominent  or  systematic,  and  where  all 
the  elements  were  at  war,  but  no  one  having  strength 
to  secure  a  victory.  It  was,  indeed,  the  infancy  of 
every  system,  the  time  when  were  sown  the  seeds  of 
the  beautiful  flowers  and  rich  fruits  that  future  gene- 
rations gathered.  All  these  contending  elements  must, 
in  time,  disengage  themselves  from  each  other,  and 


182  PHILOSOPHY    OF    REFORM. 

take  some  form  or  body  in  which  they  will  be  exhib- 
ited to  man  on  the  world's  wide  stage. 

Such  a  state  of  things  is  far  more  favorable  to  the 
development  of  truth  than  a  dead  calm,  when  all 
plod  along  in  the  same  old  beaten  path,  neither  gain- 
ing nor  losing  capital.  Truth  has  nothing  to  fear  in  the 
fiercest  war  of  the  elements.  It  is  non-combustible 
substance.  It  will  come  out  of  every  trial  brighter, 
and  freer  from  dross.  Each  verdict  of  the  world  will 
be  in  its  favor.  It  will  therefore  come  forth,  in  time, 
robed  and  crowned  with  glory,  and  rule  over  the  af- 
fairs of  men.  Then  will  error's  downfall  have  come, 
its  death  dirge  sung,  and  its  unsightly  corpse  hurried 
away  to  its  final  resting-place,  amid  the  universal 
shout  for  Truth  and  Virtue. 

We  admit  that,  at  the  close  of  the  middle  ages,  or  at 
the  beginning  of  the  reformation  in  the  sixteenth  cen- 
tury, truth  had  made  no  apparent  advancement  from 
the  beginning  of  this  period.  The  external  appear- 
ance of  nearly  every  system  was  not  altered.  The 
surface  had  not  been  broken.  The  cardinal  doctrines 
of  the  gospel  had  been  received  by  the  Church  in 
theory,  at  least,  and  idolatry  had  been  rejected  at  the 
commencement  of  this  age.  Thus  much  of  truth  ruled 
the  world,  or  the  main  system  by  which  men  were  gov- 
erned was  built  on  this  foundation.  These  doctrines 
and  this  system  were  spread  in  every  direction  by  va- 
rious means,  but  mostly  by  the  sword.  The  hearts  of 
the  people  had  not  been  changed  by  embracing  Chris- 
tianity, and,  indeed,  in  many  cases,  not  even  their 
heads,  for  they  turned  from  idolatry  to  Christianity  in 
the  hope  of  temporal  prosperity.  It  was  therefore 
found  impossible  to  keep  them  from  engrafting  idolatry 
upon  their  religious  .worship,  so  the  leaders  modeled 


W  >v      OP  TBI 

fUNIVEESI 

THE    HISTORY    OF    REFORMATION/* .        nar         +\ 

their  system  accordingly, by  introducing  fnm^>**3utrtrM* 
monies,  pomp,  show  and  parade — the  appearance  or 
sign  of  the  thing  for  the  reality — ami  made  it  such  as 
every  idolater  would  readily  embrace.  Thus  they  suc- 
ceeded in  concocting  a  kind  of  idolatro-religious  Chris- 
tianity, that  became  exceedingly  popular  with  kings, 
rulers,  and  the  world.  This  is  far  preferable  to  blank 
heathenism,  for  there  is  more  hope  that  the  leaven  of 
truth  will  cause  fermentation  that  will  result  in  the 
purification  of  the  system.  There  have  been  ages,  or 
periods,  when  even  this  semi-religion  would  not  have 
been  received ;  when,  indeed,  it  would  have  been  re- 
jected and  spurned  by  all  men.  The  world  was  there- 
fore better  than  it  had  been.  It  may  be  said  that  this 
species  of  religion  progressed,  not  only  over  a  vast  ex- 
tent of  territory,  but  towards  its  perfection.  This  is 
true  of  all  systems  and  all  things.  Everything,  un- 
der favorable  circumstances,  will  attain  its  full  growth. 
Thus  the  Church  attained  her  full  growth, or  perfection, 
in  the  twelfth  century.  It  may  be  said,  she  obtained 
the  brightest  possible  position  that  may  ever  be  expected 
to  be  reached  by  any  Church  of  a  worldly  character. 
She  made,  it  is  true,  little  or  no  improvement  or  ad- 
vancement in  this  century,  or  in  any  after  period,  yet 
she  stood  out  before  the  world,  and  before  the  people 
of  coining  time,  beautiful,  rich  and  powerful — an  ex- 
ample of  what  a  religious  world  may  be  without  the 
spirit  of  the  gospel.  She  had  grown  up  of  huge 
stature,  and  strong,  and  with  all  her  faults,  there  was 
some  real  life  still  existing.  It  is  escaping  fast,  as  does 
the  life  from  the  fallen  oak,  leaving  it  to  moulder  into 
dust,  and  when  it  is  all  fled,  that  huge  trunk  will  come 
down  of  its  own  weight,  and  perish.  There  was  not 
truth  enough  to  preserve  it  from  decay,  and  keep  it 


184  PHILOSOPHY    OF    REFORM. 

from  falling.  All  the  truths  that  are  fit  as  stones  to  be 
put  into  another  building  will  be  saved,  while  the  er- 
ror is  left  to  perish  and  die,  and  be  blown  away  as  the 
chaff  of  the  summer  threshing-floor.  We  have  in 
buildings,  so  in  all  walls,  here  and  there  a  stone  that 
cannot  stand  the  action  of  the  atmosphere,  but  that 
is  soon  decomposed,  and  then  falls  out  and  leaves  a 
breach.  In  the  system  of  religion  under  consideration 
the  keystone,  with  many  others,  could  not  stand  the 
action  of  time,  so  that  they  fell  out  at  last,  and  a  greater 
part  of  the  wall  was  overthrown.  Indeed,  pieces  of 
that  same  "  keystone  "  have  been  picked  up  from  amid 
the  rubbish  by  modern  travelers,  or  the  exhumers  of 
antiquity,  and  made  to  serve  the  same  purpose  in  other 
systems  of  a  smaller  pattern.  The  thousand  different 
systems  of  religion  of  the  present  day,  that  are  subdivi- 
sions of  that  vast  army,  whose  banner  bears  the  inscrip- 
tion, "  salvation  by  works,"  are  all,  and  severally,  built 
around  broken  pieces  of  the  keystone  of  the  Romish 
Church.  This  prop  will  soon  fail,  for  time  is  withering 
its  strength,  and  the  system  it  sustains  be  destroyed. 

No  doubt  the  natural  tendency  of  things  during  this 
period  was  to  produce  superstition  and  vice  ;  therefore, 
one  at  all  acquainted  with  the  philosophy  of  things 
will  not  be  surprised  to  find  these  and  similar  noxious 
weeds  growing  up  luxuriantly  in  that  soil.  The  peo- 
ple were  exceedingly  ignorant.  Plans  had  been  in 
operation  for  ages  to  generate  it,  and  they  had  worked 
admirably.  It  was  the  policy  of  the  leaders  to  keep 
the  people  in  this  state,  for  not  otherwise  could  they 
make  them  credulous  and  obedient.  He  who  never 
investigates  for  himself,  but  is  thought  for,  or  who  takes 
all  things  at  second-hand,  readily  believes  all  things, 
for  he  is  all  faith.     The  reason  for  his  belief  is  the  mere 


THE    HISTORY    OF    REFORMATION.  fgg 

say-so  of  some  one  in  whom  he  may  chance  lo  place 
confidence.  Ignorant  men  are  dupes,  credulous  and 
superstitious,  consequently,  in  the  end,  vicious.  We 
may  wonder  that  the  mass  were  led  by  a  few  men,  as 
they  were,  and  especially  when  many  began  to  sus- 
pect their  religion  and  the  authority  of  their  rulers, 
and  were  crying  out  for  reform  ;  but  we  should  remem- 
ber that  all  believed  in  the  supremacy  of  the  Pope  and 
the  Church,  which  would  render  any  change  in  civil 
or  ecclesiastical  affairs  impossible:  You  must  really 
believe  a  member  diseased  and  decaying,  before  you 
will  admit  of  its  amputation.  An  individual  may  be 
diseased,  even  his  vital  organs  wasting  away,  but  be- 
fore be  will  seek  a  remedy,  he  must  be  convinced  of 
the  facts  in  the  case.  Who  ever  thought  of  taking  to 
the  "  life-boat "  while  the  ship  was  whole  and  sailed 
well.  There  is  vast  folly,  and  were  it  not  that  most 
men  are  so  ignorant  of  the  principles  of  things,  we 
would  say  madness,  in  that  man's  course,  who,  to 
remove  a  moral  xjvil,  pronounces,  in  hearing  of  the 
offender,  the  practice  or  doctrine  an  evil,  and  then 
authoritatively  commands  the  guilty  one  to  abandon 
it  on  the  penalty  of  eternal  death.  It  may  be  true  that 
this  man  will  eternally  perish  if  the  sin  is  not  put 
away,  but  most  assuredly  he  will  never  give  it  up  for 
such  threatening.  The  principle  of  truth  which  will 
uproot  an  evil,  and  in  the  light  of  which  it  is  readily  per- 
ceived to  be  such,  must  first  be  established  in  the  heart , 
and  then  you  have  reformed  the  individual.  Now  the 
cause  of  all  the  wrong  that  began  to  be  somewhat  ap- 
parent to  a  few  men,  was  that  which  all  men  supposed 
was  just  as  it  should  be.  The  system  was  trusted  as 
perfectly  sound,  when  death  reigned  in  every  part. 
The  universal  jumble  already  referred  to,  was  the 


186  PHILOSOPHY    OF    REFORM. 

cause  of  the  state  of  things  that  began  to  be  manifest. 
Medicine  administered  to  a  patient,  in  its  operation 
may  prostrate  the  physical  system,  and  produce  appa- 
rent death,  but  those  throes  and  that  anguish  are  the 
necessary  result  of  that  remedy  in  its  process  of  purifi- 
cation, after  all.  During  this  period  the  commotion 
was  internal.  The  elements  were  preparing  to  disen- 
gage themselves,  and  work  out  separately  by  and  by. 
The  surface  was  thus  kept  comparatively  quiet.  This 
was  favorable  to  the  growth  of  every  hurtful  thing, 
as  superstition,  ignorance  and  vice.  Mount  Etna,  in 
whose  bowels  rages  an  unmeasured  fire-ocean,. is  cov- 
ered with  a  luxuriant  growth  of  vegetation  and  beau- 
tiful flowers. 

As  we  have  hinted,  there  were  men  who  sought  to 
do  what  good  they  could  in  almost  every  department 
of  life,  but  their  efforts  were  unavailing.  It  may  be 
supposed  that  had  Luther  lived  during  these  ages,  he 
would  have  succeeded  in  effecting  a  reformation,  but 
we  suspect  had  he  then  lived,  he  would  have  died  an 
inhabitant  of  a  convent,  and  his  influence  never  been 
felt  beyond  its  walls.  Those  times  had  no  need  for  a 
Luther,  and  therefore,  had  a  thousand  existed  they 
would  not  have  been  employed.  If  such  a  reformer 
was  needed,  why  was  he  not  called  out.  Surely  the 
material  was  not  wanting,  and  when  Time  calls  earn- 
estly and  loudly  for  a  man,  under  such  circumstances, 
he  comes  forth,  as  surely  as  did  the  dead  when  Christ 
called  them  from  their  graves.  Go  stand  on  the 
heights  of  the  Wertburg  with  Luther,  and  look  down 
with  him  through  all  this  period,  and  you  will  not 
find  a  time  ripe  for  a  reformation  until  the  sixteenth 
century.  Its  need  had  been  felt,  and  it  had  been 
sought  for,  but  the  heart  of  the  disease,  the  fountain 


THE    HISTORY    OF    REFORMAT  187 

of  poisonous  water  had  never  been  discovered,  and  as 
we  have  said,  it  was  win  ir  it  was  the  least  suspected 
to  exist.  The  time  must  come  when  things  will  so 
shape  themselves  as  to  bring  the  real  difficulty  to  the 
light,  or  we  may  never  hope  for  any  reform.  This 
was  not  the  case  until  Luther's  day,  and  even  then  it 
was  not  manifest  until  thrust  into  his  eyes. 

Besides,  no  cask  can  be  made  without  hoops,  even 
if  the  other  materials  are  perfect.  Before  Luther,  or 
any  other  man  could  effect  the  desired  object,  other 
truths  than  those  that  did  exist  must  be  wrought  out 
and  established.  Some  sentiments  in  reference  to 
men's  governing  themselves  must  be  developed  be- 
fore you  can  expect  them  to  be  governed  by  the  laws 
of  God.  In  another  place  we  will  show  what  truth 
was  wrought  out  that  prepared  the  way  for  the  refor- 
mation, and  served  as  hoops  to  hold  together  its  prin- 
ciples, or  as  a  firm  wall  to  protect  the  seed  sown. 

Men  never  thought  for  themselves,  and  together, 
till  Luther's  day.  And  during  the  middle  ages  it  will 
be  seen  that  an  all- wise  Providence  was  bringing  men 
into  those  relations  in  respect  to  each  other,  that  their 
interests,  sympathies  and  thoughts  would  be  similar, 
so  that  the  effect  Luther  sought  could  be  produced. 
The  Creator,  then,  did  not  desert  the  world  in  the 
dark  ages,  but  he  was  preparing  something  in  the 
womb  of  nature  that  would  be  delivered  in  future  time. 

During  those  ages  the  world  became  satisfied,  dis- 
gusted and  surfeited  with  spiritual  power  and  tyranny 
over  mind,  and  with  the  prominent  evils  and  their 
causes.  They  were  therefore  productive  of  some  good. 
Let  them  come,  we  are  right  glad  they  ever  did  come, 
if  thus  a  quietus  could  be  given  to  spiritual  tyranny. 
The  world  has  not,  however,  been  purged  free  and 


188  PHILOSOPHY    OF    REFORM. 

pure  of  this  spirit  of  humbuggery.  Vestiges  of  it  ex- 
ist in  our  own  age,  but.  its  general,  universal  reign 
was  broken  up,  and  it  now  only  exists  in  small  clans 
and  provinces.  It  springs  up  under  the  skillful  hand 
of  the  Mormon  prophet,  a  Millerite  lecturer,  or  Swe- 
denborg  enthusiast,  or  an  animal  magnetizer,  but  their 
fields  will  all  be  replowed  or  burned  over  before  their 
crop  comes  to  maturity.  The  leading  influences  of 
this  world  will  never  again  submit  to  be  thought  for — 
never  again  blindly  follow  an  earthly  leader  and  do 
his  bidding  in  spiritual  things.  He  who  shall  attempt 
it  proves  himself  a  madman.  The  curses  of  an  en- 
lightened world,  and  the  anathemas  of  the  dead  of 
the  dark  ages  would  be  poured  upon  his  guilty  head. 
Man  now  feels  his  responsibility  and  accountability  to 
his  Maker,  and  he  will  no  longer,  therefore,  be  dic- 
tated to  in  moral  matters.  That  Universal  Church, 
in  the  world's  judgment,  has  become  an  utter  falsity. 
It  can  never  be  universal  again.  Its  Universal  Father, 
or  Pope,  stands  as  a  synoyme  for  tyranny,  treachery, 
and  falsehood.  This  king's  kingdom  become  uni- 
versal 1  He  must  clench  right  into  the  very  vitals  of 
our  being,  and  tear  out  our  life,  to  do  it,  and  no  one 
will  tamely  submit  to  this.  That  same  spirit  may  yet 
do  injury.  It  may  possibly  work  the  overthrow  of 
our  own  republic ;  but  should  this  ever  happen,  in  our 
fall  light  would  flash  up  to  the  clouds  so  bright  as  to 
light  all  Christendom  at  once,  and  an  awakened 
world  would  arise  and  pronounce  its  doom.  But  we 
have  no  fears  that  the  hopes  and  expectations  of  the 
Romish  Church,  in  respect  to  this  country,  will  ever 
be  realized.  It  is  barely  possible,  but  not  at  all  prob- 
able. The  human  mind  has  become  too  much  de- 
veloped, and  is  too  strong  ;  the  voice  from  the  grave 


THE    HISTORY    OF    REFORMATION.  JQ9 

• 

ct  the  dark  ages  is  too  distinctly  heard,  for  any  one 
man  to  succeed  in  ruling  in  spiritual  affairs,  or  in 
holding  in  fetten  <  I  * « -  mind  of  man. 

Providence  has  also  caused  the  world  to  test  the  doc- 
trine of  "  salvation  by  works,"  in  the  experience  of 
i  he  middle  ages.  During  this  period  the  Church  was 
thrown  into  various  states  and  positions,  where  she  had 
a  fair  opportunity  of  giving  this  doctrine  a  most  thor- 
ough trial,  and  her  experiments  are  recorded  in  her 
history.  In  her  pride  and  power  she  had  departed 
from  God,  and  he  gave  her  up  to  be  filled  with  her 
own  ways.  In  this  e\tn  niity  no  effort  was  spared  to 
work  out  her  own  salvation.  All  her  rites  and  cere- 
monies— all  her  forms  and  plans — all  her  penances  and 
pilgrimages — and  all  her  heartless  routine  of  unmean- 
ing flummery,  was  to  gain  Heaven  without  Christ. 
Justification  by  faith — the  very  soul  of  religion,  so  far 
as  any  practical  benefit  was  concerned — was  aban- 
doned ;  and  in  its  stead  a  religious  system,  as  perfect 
as  such  a  one  can  ever  hope  to  be,  was  created,  for 
the  purpose  of  securing  to  the  individual  the  privilege 
of  saving  his  own  soul.  The  world  has  not  yet  done 
with  this  doctrine  altogether,  but  the  example  of  the 
Universal  Church  stands  out  upon  the  page  of  history, 
as  a  beacon  light  to  all.  We  may,  and  should,  take 
warning ;  yet,  after  all,  this  save  yourself  religion  is 
so  genial  to  the  human  heart,  so  much  in  harmony 
with  the  few  truths  yet  established  among  men,  that 
we  may  well  expect  it  will  be  a  long  time  before  the 
world  will  become  entirely  weaned  from  it.  But  from 
henceforth,  the  advocates  of  the  true  doctrine  of  sal- 
vation through  Christ,  can  point  to  the  world's  expe 
rience  in  its  opposite,  as  proof  of  it. 

One  general   observation   more  in   respect    to    the 


190  PHILOSOPHY    OF    REFORM. 

middle  ages,  and  we  will  hasten  to  the  discussion  of 
another  topic. 

What  a  strange  channel  for  the  transmission  of  the 
Apostolic  succession,  is  that  Church  of  the  dark  ages  ! 
However  pure  the  water  when  it  first  welled  up  from 
the  fountain — the  primitive  Church— it  must  have 
become  somewhat  corrupt  by  running  through  the 
dead  and  putrid  mass  of  rubbish  that  everywhere  ex- 
isted in  the  Church.  Meseems,  were  there  any  influ- 
ence that  passes  through  the  palm  of  the  Pope  into 
the  thick  and  polluted  head  of  the  Priest,  it  must  have 
been  the  virus  of  moral  death,  for  such  alone  had  he 
to  give,  and  such  alone  was  congenial  to  the  ordained, 
and  naught  but  such  was  ever  manifest  in  their  lives 
after  impregnation.  Truly,  men  do  love  darkness 
rather  than  light — and  prefer  death  to  life,  and  corrup- 
tion to  virtue,  or  they  would  never  claim  kindred  with 
the  Romish  Church  of  the  middle  ages.  How  the 
advocates  of  succession  are  to  free  themselves  from  the 
difficulty  caused  by  the  existence  of  that  female  Pope, 
or  Popess,  we  know  not.  Here  a  link  of  the  chain  is 
broken,  and  "  tenth  or  ten  thousandth  breaks  the  chain 
alike."  Therefore,  those  who  hold  on  to  this  chain 
are  not  of  the  Apostolic  Church,  unless  it  be  that 
across  the  separation  a  holy  influence  passes,  some- 
thing as  electricity  can  be  made  to  cross  a  river.  Be- 
sides, when  a  faithful  examination  is  made,  it  will  be 
found  that  the  chain  was  never  fastened  to  the  chair 
of  St.  Peter  at  Rome,  for  the  best  of  all  reasons,  that 
there  is  not  one  particle  of  proof  in  the  Bible,  or  in 
any  important  history,  that  St.  Peter  ever  saw  Rome, 
much  less  that  he  was  ever  the  Bishop  of  its  Church. 
And  furthermore,  during  a  part  of  this  age  the  officers 
of  the  Church  were  appointed  by  the  kings  and  rulers, 


THE    HISTORY    OF    REFORMATION.  191 

or  the  office  was  sold  to  the  highest  bidder ;  and  thai, 
not  unfreqtiently,  even  common  soldiers,  civil  magis- 
trates, and  men  of  die  most  profligate  character,  were 
invested  with  spiritual  offices.  The  highest  office  was 
often  filled  by  bribery,  force,  and  by  almost  all  kinds 
of  violence.  The  whole  body  was  also  rent  in  twain 
by  no  less  than  twenty-two,  and  some  Romanists  admit 
twenty-six,  and  Protestants  can  find  twenty-nine  schisms. 
In  some  of  the  worst  of  these  cases  we  sincerely  doubt 
whether  the  holy  virus  could  be  made  to  pass  the 
broad  breach  !  Let  those  who  choose  claim  relation- 
ship with  the  Church  in  this  age,  and  derive  their 
authority  for  preaching  the  gospel  from  men  who  are 
professedly  linked  to  all  this  corruption,  and  Anti- 
christian  conduct.  For  our  part,  we  prefer  to  obtain 
authority  from  the  Head  of  the  Church.  We  prefer  a 
commission  directly  from  Him,  to  one  that  has  come 
down  through  such  a  putrid  channel. 

The  world  has  passed  sentence  on  this  Apostolic 
succession  long  ago.  It  has  not,  and  never  can  be 
made  to  have,  confidence  in  it.  It  may  be  tolerated, 
so  is  almost  every  other  error.  The  truth  has  made 
this  a  liberal  world,  and  it  has  nothing  to  fear  from 
error,  in  the  final  result,  at  least.  Neither  is  it  so  per- 
fect yet  but  that  it  may  subscribe  some  error,  but  not 
this  one.  It  may  say,  "  live,  if  you  will,  out  of  spite, 
having  no  voice  or  vote  in  human  affairs — but  thou 
shalt  not  live  actively,  but  dead,  if  at  all."  Let  these 
succession  men  attempt  to  carry  out  their  religion  into 
its  legitimate  tendencies — let  them  begin  to  press  it 
upon  men,  and  endeavor  to  force  acceptance — let  them 
cry  down  every  other  religion,  and  erect  their  physical 
engines  again  for  its  propagation,  the  world  will  at  once 
and  unitedly  thunder,  "  No !"  "  we  heed  thee  not ;" 
9 


J  92  PHILOSOPHY   OF    REFORM. 

u  we  will  not  submit ;"  "  we  have  proved  thee  false  j" 
u  we  will  not,  we  dare  not,  believe  thee ;"  "  away 
with  thee."  There  is  too  much  virtue  and  intelli- 
gence, to  receive  as  true  religion  anything  that  is  not 
built  upon  the  foundation  of  Christ  himself.  This 
One-Church  system  never  did,  and  never  can,  exist 
long,  but  in  a  corrupt  state  of  society  ;  for  men  will 
not  sell  their  souls  and  bodies  to  their  spiritual  guides, 
unless  they  are  credulous,  superstitious,  ignorant,  and 
therefore  vicious.  Mankind  are  sick  of  it,  and  when 
it  is  attempted  to  be  forced  upon  them,  outraged  and 
indignant  they  will  arise  and  annihilate  it. 

Let  us  here  examine  some  of  the  prominent  events 
of  this  period,  together  with  their  influences  upon 
society. 

Rome,  the  proud  mistress  of  the  world,  had  been 
conquered,  broken  up,  and  divided  among  the  victors. 
The  civil  system  that  she  originated  and  maintained 
had  become  worn  out,  and  the  people  demanded  a 
change.  She  struggled  for  a  lengthened  existence, 
but  her  veni,  vidi,  vici  armies  had  become  nerveless 
as  dead  men.  The  barbarians  poured  down  upon 
them  like  swarms  of  locusts,  and  destroyed  them. 
The  Church  attained  to  universal  influence  and  power. 
If  she  did  not  command  the  nations  of  the  earth  at 
first,  she  swayed  them  by  her  influence.  Those  bar- 
barians, through  it,  laid  aside  their  former  religion  and 
embraced  Christianity.  They  were  a  rough,  savage, 
wandering  people ;  but  by  contact  with  their  more 
civilized  subjects,  they  became  more  settled  in  their 
habits,  till,  from  them,  as  was  quite  natural,  sprung 
the  final  system. 

We  may  now  look  back,  or  return  and  wander  amid 
the  people  of  the  middle  ages,  and  wonder  that  no 


THE    HISTORY    OF    REFORMATION.  193 

better  system  could  be  adopted  in  tbe  tenth  century. 
We  may  blame  the  people  and  blame  the  age,  Inn 
every  age  and  every  people  need  1  particular  kind  of 
government,  mul  make  their  demand  accordingly,  and 
it  comes  at  their  call.  The  people  of  this  cent  wry 
were  fitted  for  the  system  they  enjoyed  ;  (liorefore 
none  other  could  have  been  adopted— or  if  adopted, 
it  could  have  done  them  no  good.  The  universality 
of  its  adoption  proves  this.  That  which  all  nun  call 
good,  is  so  in  their  estimation,  however  wrong  it  may 
be  in  fact.  They  will  trust  it  as  perfect,  and  fight  you 
for  contradicting  them  ;  and  attempting  to  give  them 
something  better  is  what  they  will  call  robbing  them 
of  their  dearest  rights. 

Feudalism  came — the  best,  and,  indeed,  the  only 
system  of  government  the  people  could  adopt — and 
how  rapidly  it  spread  !  It  sprung  up  in  every  land, 
and  in  every  soil.  It  was  a  strange  thing  to  many, 
and  they  regarded  it  as  the  very  triumph  of  chaos — 
no  jumble  could  go  beyond  that!  The  world's  end, 
they  thought,  had  come.  They  saw  no  farther  need 
for  its  existence ;  therefore,  why  should  it  not  end  1 
it  was  night — the  sun  had  gone  down — it  was  the  mid- 
dle of  the  "  dark  ages."  Thus  some  reasoned,  others 
differently.  They  then  cast  about  for  proof  of  their 
belief.  Their  theory  first,  and  then  the  proof!  They 
found  it  in  Revelations,  just  as  all  such  fanatics  will 
who  put  the  cart  before  the  horse,  for  they  read  the 
thousand  years  to  be  the  time  the  world  was  to  stand 
after  Christ.  The  time  was  almost  run  out,  and  the 
world  was  frightened,  and  read  the  Bible  to  suit  its 
views  and  notions. 

Had  this  system  never  effected  any  other  good  for 


194  PHILOSOPHY    OF    REFORM. 

the  world  than  the  elevation  of  woman  to  the  rank 
and  station  she  was  designed  to  occupy — if  it  had  done 
no  more  than  to  develop  her  worth  and  virtues,  we 
say,  no  one  thing  in  any  "  light  ages"  has  done  more 
for  the  civilization  and  thorough  reformation  of  the 
world.  The  worth  and  influence  of  woman  !  It  can 
never  be  reckoned  up  in  this  world.  It  is  too  far- 
reaching  and  extensive  to  be  collected  and  marked 
down.  It  enters  into  every  department  of  life,  and 
instils  its  healing  virtue  into  every  fibre  of  this  poor 
and  sickly  world.  Woman  moulds  and  shapes  our 
minds,  gives  direction  to  our  thoughts,  and  almost  carves 
out  our  destiny,  here  and  hereafter,  in  our  infancy. 
It  is  the  mother  who  watches  and  nurses  the  tender 
plant,  and  its  form,  its  stateliness  and  its  very  life,  its 
all,  can  be  traced  to  her  guiding  hand.  It  is  the 
mother  who  is  to  guard  our  domestic  hearths — the 
nurseries  of  virtue  and  patriotism.  It  is  to  her  we  are 
to  look  to  train  up  our  statesmen  and  men  of  God. 
Woman  !  She  is  earth's  sunny  flower,  that  beguiles  our 
weary  hours,  and  makes  our  stay  here  supportable.  She 
is  the  emblem  of  virtue  and  innocence,  and  the  patron 
of  every  good  and  worthy  thing.  Happy  country 
that,  where  her  influence  is  fully  felt,  and  her  worth 
appreciated,  and  prosperous,  also,  in  every  good  work. 
But  where  she  is  sunken  and  degraded,  her  lord,  too, 
is  vicious,  ignorant  and  benighted.  She  is  the  bright 
sun,  under  the  influence  of  whose  ra}^s  every  science 
and  art,  all  literature,  virtue  and  peace,  spring  into 
life.  But  where  her  worth  is  nqt  known,  and  she  is 
ignorant  and  vicious,  the  earth  becomes  a  barren 
heath,  and  its  rich,  sweet  flowers  wither  and  die. 
During  the  reign  of  feudalism,  men  from  necessity 


THE    HISTORY    OP    REFORMATION.  ]<x> 

thrir  wandering  life,  and  settled  permanently 
upon  their  own  domain.  Intercourse  with  their  fel- 
low-men around  them  was  not  necessary,  and  was  not 
enjoyed.  Each  family  was  shut  up  by  itself.  The 
father  and  the  husband  would  naturally,  under  such 
circumstances,  turn  to  his  own  family  for  sympathy, 
and  to  find  those  who  might  share  with  him  his  joys 
and  sorrows.  He  became  interested  in  their  welfare 
alone,  and  his  family,  in  turn,  were  the  only  indivi- 
duals interested  in  him.  This  domestic  life  acquired 
vast  influence,  and  woman's  worth  in  all  things  was 
fully  tested  and  established  ;  therefore,  when  the  time 
came  for  the  mind  to  rise  in  one  almost  universal  in- 
surrection, and  demand  emancipation  from  Spiritual 
rule  in  the  sixteenth  century,  the  priest,  monk,  bishop 
or  pope,  with  all  their  expressions  of  pious  horror, 
threats  and  persuasive  gifts,  could  not  hinder  the  es- 
tablishment of  "  domestic  institutions"  among  eccle- 
siastics, of  which  Melancthon  was  the  leader.  Visit 
those  countries  where  the  system  was  not  adopted,  and 
you  will  find,  to  this  day,  woman  degraded,  ignorant 
and  crushed  into  the  earth,  and  the  consequent  degra- 
dation and  vice  of  the  whole  people.  Truth  can  never 
triumph  where  woman  is  debased. 

Here,  then,  was  one  important  truth  wrought  out 
in  the  "  dark  ages,"  without  which  we  could  never 
hope  for  great  progress  in  reformation. 

When,  let  me  ask,  has  the  spirit  of  personal  inde- 
pendence, the  consciousness  of  our  manhood,  and  the 
sentiment  that  we  may  think,  and  speak,  and  act  as 
a  man,  ever  been  so  fully  developed  as  during  the 
reign  of  feudalism  1  The  age,  with  its  encouraging 
and  inspiriting  voice,  whispered  in  every  ear : 


196  >       PHILOSOPHY    OF    REFORM. 

"  Stand  up — erect !     Thou  hast  the  form 
And  likeness  of  thy  God  ! — who  more  ? 
A  soul  as  dauntless  'mid  the  storm 
Of  daily  life,  a  heart  as  warm 
And  pure  as  breast  e'er  wore." 

Rome,  with  all  her  boasted  freedom,  never  stretched 
forth  her  hand  thus  to  lift  np  man  from  self-bondage. 
Her  people  had  learned  the  freedom  of  a  citizen,  and 
prized  it,  but  they  knew  nothing  of  individual  inde- 
pendence— a  proud  consciousness  of  personal  manhood. 
If  they  had,  that  universal,  spiritual  rule  which  fol- 
lowed, and  which  sapped  the  very  life-blood  from  the 
Church,  would  never  have  had  an  existence.  Better 
by  far  attempt  to  chain  the  winds  and  waves,  than  to 
chain  and  fetter  a  mind  once  emancipated ;  annihila- 
tion is  preferable — so  a  freeman  reasons.  Here  was 
a  great  advantage  gained — one  that  men  have  not  and 
never  will  recede  from  ;  the  Pope's  bulls,  inquisitions, 
threats  and  wrath  to  the  contrary  notwithstanding. 
There  were  insurmountable  obstacles  to  the  mind's 
thinking  right  at  once,  and  coming  out  and  bursting 
its  shackles.  These  obstacles  were  removed  in  time 
by  other  causes,  and  then  man  stood  up,  an  inde- 
pendent being,  to  think,  and  speak,  and  act  for  him- 
self. What  lasting  benefit,  pray,  could  freedom  of  the 
body  confer  on  our  slaves,  or  on  any  man  who  did 
not  feel  in  his  inner  heart  that  he  was  a  man  ?  Unless 
they  were  able  to  look  their  adversary  in  the  face,  and 
say,  "  Sir,  I  am  a  man  /"  they  would  soon  be  thrust 
back  again  into  hopeless  bondage ;  or,  though  they 
escape  this,  they  would  be  treated  as  the  rubbish  be- 
neath our  feet — as  vile  and  worthless.  What  is  life 
worth  to  such  men,  or  any  man  without  personal  in- 


THE    HISTORY    OF    REFORMATION.  197 

dependence?     As  much,  perhaps,  as  it  is  to  the  squir- 
rel— no  more. 

Feudalism,  though  so  much  despised  and  dreaded, 
did  give  birth  to  all  (hat  is  generous,  noble  and  faith- 
ful in  om  natures;  and  where  would  have  been  that 
tm<  nobleness  of  mind,  that  magnanimity  of  soul 
we  call  honor,  had  that  system  never  existed?  It 
would  have  remained  buried  beneath  the  rubbish  of 
kingly  and  tyrannical  governments,  or  crushed  under 
the  ruthless  feet  of  the  haughty  pontiff,  as  a  beautiful 
su miner's  (lower  is  crushed  by  the  heedless  wanderer. 
The  true  heroic  of  our  nature  here  began  to  be  exhib- 
ited. Some  of  the  noblest  and  most  serviceable  pas- 
sions of  the  mind  were,  under  this  system,  warmed 
into  life,  and  by  other  means  grew  up  to  full  maturity. 
The  situation  and  condition  in  which  men  were  placed 
called  forth  these  emotions.  We  can  conceive  of  no 
other  circumstances  at  that  time  that  could  have  effect- 
ed this.  And  what  is  man  when  they  are  dormant  1 
A  mere  slave — the  dupe  of  the  haughty  demagogue 
and  tyrant.  The  proud  bearing  of  men  in  those  old 
baronial  halls  exhibits  to  us  the  fact  that  men  began 
to  feel  their  worth,  and  station,  and  dignity.  It  will  be 
difficult  to  trample  such  men  down  into  the  dust  after 
this.  Here  is  the  material  created,  which,  when  Pro- 
vidence shall  wheel  it  into  rank  by  and  by,  through 
some  other  agency,  will  make  a  formidable  army, 
ready  to  make  war  to  the  hilt  against  discord,  injus- 
tice and  chaos.  There  was  no  union  of  interest  at 
this  time;  therefore,  the  more  room  for  generous 
and  noble  deeds.  There  were  no  written-out  deeds 
and  parchments ;  the  more  room,  therefore,  for  mu- 
tual confidence  and  faithfulness.  All  these  noble 
and  worthy  traits  did  exist  as  in  no  former  period. 


198  PHILOSOPHY    OF    REFORM. 

In  those  noble  bosoms,  amid  those  dark  ages,  the  seed 
was  sown  that  did  germinate  and  shoot  up  the  stalk 
that  bore  rich  fruit,  from  which  good  seed  was  ga- 
thered, and  scattered  again  to  the  winds,  to  grow  and 
fill  the  earth,  and,  in  its  firm  growth,  to  throw  down 
and  destroy  the  walls  built  to  hedge  it  out. 

As  was  natural  among  those  thus  nurtured  and 
trained,  education  and  sound  learning  sprung  up. 
Here,  then,  is  the  shaft  that  will  be  able  to  reach  the 
vitals  of  the  Man  of  Sin.  No  man  ever  dreamed  of 
tyranny  over  an  enlightened  people.  Tyrants  grow 
dwarfish  in  such  soil. 

The  Muses,  too,  driven  from  the  world  by  its  con- 
tention, discord  and  ignorance,  took  shelter  and  were 
protected  in  those  noble  halls.  The  harp  was  taken 
down  from  nature's  keeping  and  tuned  anew.  It 
awoke  up  the  lost,  but  tender  emotions  of  the  soul, 
and  thus  the  harsh  and  rugged  nature  of  man  was 
softened,  and  he  was  fitted  for  the  scenes  in  which  he 
was  soon  to  be  called  to  engage. 

We  do  not  say,  give  us  back  those  days  and  times — 
we  have  better  days  with  us;  but  we  do  say,  they 
were  glorious  days  for  the  world,  even  though  they 
came  in  the  night  of  time.  Nothing,  under  the  cir- 
cumstances, could  have  effected  more  good  for  the 
world  than  this  system  secured.  The  world  was  pre- 
pared for  it,  and  demanded  it,  and  it  came,  and  the 
good  it  bequeathed  in  its  last  will  and  testament  we 
have  noted. 

Besides,  it  added  a  codicil  to  the  will.  It  wrought 
out  in  the  mind  a  desire  for  a  more  extended  union — 
and  one,  also,  that  should  be  natural,  therefore  simple 
and  efficient.  Hitherto  everything  had  been  local  and 
special,  which  made  it  impossible  to  secure  all  the  good 


I  in:    E08T0R1    '  '<•'    »;i  l«»i> 

man  began  to  feel  the  need  of,  and  that  is  deal  in 
him.  Tin}  needed  a  central,  independent,  and  per- 
manent go\  eminent.  When  anything  was  needed  of 
a  general  character,  no  way  had  been  provided  to 
obtain  it,  therefore  everything  was  occasional  and 
accidental.  Men  began  to  feel  the  need  of  some  sys- 
inii  that  could  secure  to  them  their  wants.  The  old 
mic  had  done  well,  and  accomplished  its  object;  it 
must,  therefore,  be  laid  aside  for  a  better,  hut  the  good 
it  had  wrought  out  can  never  be  destroyed  nor  forgot  t<  n. 
In  fact,  the  good  thus  secured  had  become  a  part  of 
man's  being.  They  began  to  feel  themselves  men. 
No  doubt  this  feeling  was  carried  to  extremes,  for  men 
were  all  enthusiasm  and  spirit,  rather  than  sorid  and 
stable;  but  what  of  it!  it  was  the  world's  boyhood. 
The  childhood  of  every  system  existed  in  the  middle 
ages.  Men  were  children  then,  but  truly  noble,  gene- 
rous and  brave.  The  desire,  which  we  have  noticed, 
for  a  mutual  union,  was  the  presiding  thought  and 
idea  of  the  Crusades.  Those  great  wars  for  the  Cross 
were  only  feudalism  on  a  larger  scale.  If  we  will 
siiiiiy  the  time  and  men,  and  all  that  influenced  them, 
we  shall  see  that  these  holy  wars  must  come.  They 
came  naturally — they  were  not  forced,  but  were  the 
birth  of  the  age.  It  matters  not  how  much  evil  was 
the  result,  how  wicked  those  were  who  projected  them, 
or  how  much  they  were  opposed  by  the  cautious  and 
prudent,  the  time  had  come  for  nature  to  give  birth  to 
just  that  something  we  call  the  Crusades.  It  will  not 
do  to  stand  up  now,  and  mourn  over  the  world's  igno- 
rance and  folly,  and  wonder  that  something  more  ser- 
viceable was  not  got  up.  At  least,  such  mournful 
croaking  will  do  no  good,  but  only  prove  the  individual 
to  be  a  poor  philosopher.  He  has  not  yet  learned  the 
9* 


200  PHILOSOPHY    OF    REFORM. 

wherefore  of  events,  and  never  will,  without  closer  and 
deeper  communings  with  nature.  Indeed,  nothing 
else  could  be  established  at  that  time.  No  one  felt 
the  need  of  anything  else,  nor  dreamed  that  anything 
else  was  wanted  ;  and,  had  we  been  there,  we  should 
have  engaged  with  them  to  rescue  the  Sepulchre  of 
the  Son  of  God  from  the  hands  of  the  infidels  with  as 
much  zeal,  ardor,  and  enthusiasm,  as  they  did,  though 
not  if  we  had  possessed  the  same  intelligence,  princi- 
ples and  feelings  we  now  possess.  Men  could  not  now 
get  back  into  those  times,  and  should  we  march  back 
to  the  middle  ages  with  our  present  intelligence  and 
religion,  those  dark  ages  would  become  light  ages  at 
once.  Of  course  this  would  change  the  times,  and 
those  that  did  exist  would  need  and  obtain  something 
peculiar  to  themselves.  In  fact,  we  are  only  the  men, 
as  it  were,  of  the  middle  ages,  grown  up  a  little  nearer 
maturity  and  manhood.  Neither  is  it  probable,  nay, 
it  is  impossible,  that  all  men  of  that  day  knew  and 
felt*  that  the  work  in  which  they  were  engaged  was 
the  legitimate  work  of  previously  established  princi- 
ples, or  what  would  be  its  result  to  the  world.  Some 
few  may  have  known  all  this,  and  been  able  to  look 
into  futurity  sufficiently  to  know  what  would  be  the 
net  gain  to  the  world  from  their  work,  but  most  were 
urged  on  by  an  inward  impulse,  of  which  they  knew 
but  very  little.  Had  they  been  asked  the  reason,  they 
could  not  have  given  it,  unless  they  ascribed  it  to  some 
invisible  supernatural  agency.  But  we  can  see  why 
they  thus  acted  and  felt,  and  are  not  surprised  at  their 
conduct.  The  scenes  through  which  they  had  passed 
had  brought  into  being  those  very  feelings,  and  their 
situation  was  such  as  to  compel  them  to  seek  what 
they  gained.     They  acted  naturally,  and  though  im- 


TUB    IMstohy    OP    REFORMATION  201 

polled  by  a  hidden  influence,  yet  they  acted  freely  and 
voluntarily.  How  great  and  good  is  our  Maker,  who 
could  harness  down  the  enemy  of  the  race  who  had 
stolen  the  livery  of  Heaven,  and  thus  work  out  for  (he 
world  tins  great  blessing!  Truly,  he  causes  the  wrath 
of  man  to  praise  him. 

There  was  something  noble  and  great  in  those  holy 
wars,  in  such  vast  armies,  immense  sacrifices  and  self- 
denial.  What  heroism  and  spirit!  It  was  not  for 
wealth,  or  honor,  or  immortality  they  sought.  It  was 
not  some  strange  impulse,  that  could  not  be  analyzed, 
that  impelled  them  onward.  Neither  were  they  slaves, 
following  a  haughty  tyrant,  or  crouching  at  his  feet. 
It  was  not  to  rescue  friends,  wives,  sisters  or  children, 
that  they  took  up  arms.  No  !  not  even  for  all  these 
together.  See  ye  yonder  cross,  borne-  aloft  amid  the 
rushing  crowd  of  tens  of  thousands  ]  It  is  the  sign  of 
the  cross  on  which  Jesus  was  crucified,  and  whose 
grave  was  in  the  enemies'  land,  but  it  had  been  taken 
and  spoiled.  The  very  ground  which  had  been  trod 
by  the  holy  Redeemer  was  now  defiled  by  the  proud 
infidel.  To  rescue  this  was  their  object.  Here  their 
hearts'  purest  and  best  affections  centered.  This  was 
the  magic  influence  that  aroused  every  sleeping 
emotion  of  their  souls.  A  noble  sight !  A  noble, 
generous  race  of  men,  united  so  firmly,  and  moving  on 
so  strongly.  Oh  !  could  your  zeal,  and  ardor,  and 
efforts  have  been  turned  to  a  good  account,  had  your 
hearts  been  sanctified,  and  your  desires  been  as  pure 
and  holy  as  those  of  your  Redeemer  ;  whose  grave  ye 
seek  to  rescue  from  the  Mahometan,  had  those  your 
great  labors  been  consonant  with  the  spirit  of  true  reli- 
gion, then  you  might  have  conquered  for  your  Re- 
deemer, and  won   laurels   for   yourselves,  for  "  thy 


202  PHILOSOPHY    OF    REFORM. 

God,  even  thy  father's  God,  would  have  shielded  thee," 
and  made  thee  victorious. 

The  effect  of  these  vast  enterprises  was  the  union 
we  have  seen  to  be  needed.  Heretofore,  the  people 
had  been  scattered  abroad  upon  the  hills  and  in  the 
valleys,  learning  other  important  truths.  They  had 
never  felt  that  each  one  was  a  member  of  the  race. 
They  had  been  bound  to  each  other  by  no  common 
tie.  The  world  had  moved  together,  to  be  sure,  but 
it  was  under  the  leading  of  a  single  man— rather, 
they  had  followed  together  a  single  leader — but  it  was 
all  constraint,  they  had  never  been  aroused  to  act  in 
concert.  It  was  needful  that  men's  sympathies  should 
be  excited  and  united.  It  was  necessary  that  the  bro- 
therhood of  man  should  be  practically  recognized. 
These  holy  wars  secured  this.  They  presented  an 
appearance  like  the  sea  in  a  storm,  when  its  waves 
roll  unitedly,  and  high  and  heavily.  The  world  was 
moved  under  the  influence  of  a  single  idea,  or  a  single 
force  was  acting  on  all  minds  alike.  It  was  all  nat- 
ural and  free.  It  was  an  enthusiasm  and  zeal  as  for 
the  truth  that  filled  their  wild  hearts,  and  they  were 
forced  on  together  like  a  mountain  torrent.  Thus 
the  design  of  Providence  was  gained. 

Had  these  projects  been  better  conceived,  and  more 
cautiously  and  judiciously  conducted,  they  might  have 
succeeded  in  gaining  what  they  sought.  But  they 
were  too  confident,  and  suffered  themselves  to  be  led 
by  impulse  rather  than  their  better  judgment,  and 
hence  they  failed.  Yet  a  lesson  was  learned  that 
will  never  be  forgotten.  The  mind  was  unshackled 
and  made  free.  All  men  are  men,  and  they  may  be 
moved  by  the  same .  influence  unitedly.  The  time 
may  come  when  these  truths  will  be  serviceable  to 


THE    HISTORY    OF    REFORMATION.  M| 

the  world.  Indeed,  that  time  did  come  in  Luther's 
day,  and  it  has  not  passed  away. 

These  same  enterprises,  also,  drove  the  people  from 
their  secluded  homes  into  more  varied  life,  whore  they 
saw  sad  learned  the  world.  They  also  saw  Rome 
and  learned  what  the  Church  was,  a  sink  of  sin  and 
impurity.  It  was  as  needful  they  should  possess  this 
knowledge,  as  it  was  for* Luther  when  he  was  sent  to 
settle  difficulties  thai  had  arisen  among  the  monaste- 
ries of  his  order  in  Germany.  They  thus  learned  the 
amount  of  personal  interest  that  entered  into  the  dis- 
putes and  contentions  there.  They  saw  things  as 
they  existed,  and  carried  home  their  knowledge  in 
their  jiearts,  and  it  gave  them  boldness  and  energy 
that  could  not  well  be  controlled  and  managed. 

We  have  here  an  example  of  the  great  power  of 
moral  influence  over  men  and  even  the  world.  Force 
had  hitherto  united  men,  and  they  had  been  driven 
whithersoever  the  tyrant  willed.  Therefore,  the  world 
may  be  regarded,  under  such  circumstances,  as  dead, 
wholly  so,  as  it  respects  its  ability  to  perform  that  for 
which  it  was  created.  Still,  there  were  individuals  in 
every  age  who  were  alive.  The  moral  causes  that 
move  men  and  nations  are  their  life.  They  possess 
bodies,  and  blood  may  course  regularly  through  them 
while  governed  by  force,  but  figuratively,  they  are 
dead,  without  moral  influence.  Nothing  of  any  good 
can  flourish  where  there  is  no  life — where  this  death 
reigns.  No  truth  was  ever  developed  by  force.  A 
forced  people  can  never  be  a  literary  or  scientific,  but 
an  ignorant  people. 

Wereall  the  good  the  Crusades  accomplished  only  the 
emancipation  of  mind,  they  should  be  had  in  everlast- 
ing remembrance.     Here  the  fetters  were  broken,  and 


204  PHILOSOPHY    OF    REFORM. 

men  were  taught  the  all-important  lesson,  that  they 
could  do  something.  This  is  an  important  lesson,  and 
it  must  be  learned  by  each  of  us  before  we  are  pre- 
pared to  effect  much  in  this  world.  Men's  minds  were 
permanently  emancipated,  and  this  would  have  been 
accomplished  long  before,  and  their  bodies  freed  also, 
had  they  not  been  content  with  one  idea.  In  the  pos- 
session of  this  they  forgot  everything  else,  and  rested 
content.  All  their  general  enthusiasm  was  for  the 
Church,  and  therefore,  at  all  efforts  at  reform,  they 
failed.  Reformers  did  arise,  but  the  heart  of  the  disease 
had  not  been  discovered.  There  was  nothing  wrought 
out  that  was  capable  of  guiding  the.  world  in  such  an 
enterprise.  It  would  seem  that  when  we  have  gained 
one  step  towards  our  destined  high  position,  we  would 
immediately  take  another.  But  this  is  not  so  in  the 
progress  of  truth.  One  reason  is,  men  are  averse  to 
change,  and  another  is,  they  know  not  that  there  is 
higher  ground  before  them,  but  regard  what  they  have 
gained  as  the  summit  of  truth  and  rest  content  with  it : 
and  they  never  think  of  changing  until  they  have  re- 
ceived the  entire  benefit  of  the  system,  and  it  begin  to 
fall  in  pieces  around  them,  or  crush  them  with  its  moun- 
tain weight  of  evil.  Men  are  driven  by  the  force  of  cir- 
cumstances to  make  advance  in  the  truth,  just  as  the 
young  eagle  is  compelled  to  learn  to  fly  by  its  being 
thrown  from  its  nest,  and  the  nest  destroyed.  They  are 
blind  and  go  forth  thus,  and  they  would  make  ship- 
wreck of  the  world  at  once,  did  not  an  unseen  hand 
manage  and  guide  in  all  things. 

When  these  truths  were  developed  in  the  minds  of 
men,  education  revived  and  flourished.  The  Crusades, 
more  than  any  other  one  thing,  produced  this  result. 
They  had  expanded  the  mind,  and  given  large  and 


jri!K    HISTORY    OF    REFORMATIO*.  gg 

liberal  ideas  and  views,  in  leading  the  people  oik  into 
the  world,  ninid  its  varied  scenery  and  greatness. 
The  reign  of  ignorance  was  thus  broken  up,  and  light 
accompanied  the  now  facts  that  rushed  into  the 
awakened  mind. 

The  world  began  to  move  together,  under  a  single 
impulse.  Feudalism  was  thrown  aside.  The  Church, 
the  cities  and  nations  broke  through  this  system,  and 
began  to  feel  that  there  did  exist  a  unity  of  the  race. 
During  the  reign  of  feudalism,  every  distinct  organi- 
Itatn  bad  been  kept  up,  but  all  possessed  a  feudal 
character  in  external  appearance,  and  even  their  in- 
ternal management  was  conformed  to  its  spirit  as  much 
as  possible.  But  now  everything  had  changed,  so 
that  plans,  and  rules,  and  regulations  of  national  inter- 
course, and  the  establishment  of  general  principles  by 
which  each  people  should  be  governed  in  the  several 
relations  it  sustained  to  every  other,  were  needed. 
Therefore,  the  study  of  the  old  Roman  law  was  re- 
vived, and  schools  were  formed  in  which  it  could  be 
taught.  All  this  would  lead  to  the  study  and  investi- 
gation of  other  sciences,  and  was,  therefore,  a  promi- 
nent cause  of  the  revival  of  education.  In  fact,  men 
were  required  to  become  more  intelligent  to  keep  them- 
selves free  from  the  power  of  tyranny.  They  also 
began  to  be  ambitious,  and  seek  honorable  stations, 
which  were  now  more  or  less  thrown  within  their 
reach,  by  being  held  up  as  the  reward  of  successful 
effort. 

The  nature  of  the  studies  with  which  all  rude  peo- 
ple commence  their  improvement,  has  a  tendency  to 
sharpen  the  intellect,  and  thus  create  a  desire  for  fur- 
ther knowledge.  There  is  also  a  tendency  in  educa- 
tion, however  small  the  amount,  to  refine  and  elevate 


206  PHILOSOPHY    OF    REFORM. 

the  thoughts  and  feelings,  which,  if  not  hindered, 
will  increase  to  perfection.  An  unenlightened  people, 
if  they  think  at  all,  are  usually  engaged  in  contro- 
versy that  will  naturally  make  them  pugnacious,  and 
this,  in  its  turn,  will  awaken  a  desire  for  further  investi- 
gation. These  controversies  are  usually  caused  by 
their  passion  for  abstract,  philosophical  and  meta- 
physical studies ;  or,  in  other  words,  in  a  struggle  to 
understand  things  hitherto  unknown.  When  men 
have  seen  the  whole  of  all  things,  they  will  see  alike, 
but  when  they  first  awake,  everything  astonishes  and 
surprises  them.  They  begin  to  examine,  and  of 
course  begin  to  see  the  cause  of  what  exists  around 
them.  But  no  two  see  alike  at  first,  for  no  two  see 
aright,  hence  their  contention  in  developing  abstract 
principles.  The  friction  that  is  thus  produced — this 
grinding  together  of  intellect — rapidly  prepares  the 
mind  for  continued  and  deeper  research. 

The  truth  that  had  been  generating  in  the  minds  of 
men  began  to  develop  itself.  It  had  been  making 
progress,  as  we  have  seen,  during  the  past  centuries. 
It  had  been  either  directly  moulding  and  fashioning 
the  character  of  men  and  nations,  or  awaiting  for  the 
completion  of  the  preparation  for  its  outward  mani- 
festation, for  it  must  always  be  wrought  out  in  the 
heart  before  it  takes  its  shape  in  visible  action. 

An  evidence  of  this  position  is  the  fact  that  from, 
and  during,  the  thirteenth  century  heresies  began  to  in- 
crease. They  had  existed  before,  but  they  were  all 
of  a  similar  character,  for  they  were  attempts  at  con- 
forming religion  to  the  philosophy  of  the  times,  or  the 
philosophy  of  the  times  to  religion.  At  this  time, 
they  were  of  a  varied  character.  They  increased 
rapidly.     In  these  great  internal  divisions  and  dissen- 


THE    HISTORY    OF    REFORMATION.  J07 

sions  is  proof  that  men  began  to  think  for  themselves, 
and  that  truth  had  penetrated  to  the  bottom  of  the 
system,  and  was  producing  fermentation  that  must  re- 
suit  m  a  general  purification.  True,  they  were  usually 
quelled,  but  their  influence  was  not  destroyed.  They 
broke  the  habits  and  customs  of  the  people,  which 
rendered  them  uneasy  and  unsatisfied.  They  were 
the  thunder  that  is  produced  by  the  internal  war  of 
the  elements,  which  is  the  precursor  of  an  outbreak. 

The  revival  of  learning  is  proof  of  the  same  fact.  In 
the  fifteenth  century  learning  became  almost  a  passion. 
Greek  and  Latin  manuscripts  were  sought  for  and  de- 
voured with  avidity.  By  the  efforts  of  literary  men, 
that  classical  taste  was  formed  which  inspired  indivi- 
duals everywhere  with  such  admiration  of  Virgil  and 
Homer,  of  the  ancient  philosophy,  society  and  litera- 
ture. Here  was  trained  up  for  future  time,  bold 
thinkers  in  every  department  of  life. 

What  mean  those  distant  cries,  from  various  quarters 
and  sources,  for  a  reformation  in  the  Church  1  They 
indicate  that  the  people  begin  to  see  and  feel  its  need. 
The  deformity  of  their  present  system  has  become  too 
apparent  to  be  longer  tolerated.  The  bright  light  of 
truth  began  to  break  from  the  clouds,  and  men  began 
to  see  things  as  trees  walking.  That  Council  of  Con- 
stance was  called  to  reform  abuses  in  the  Church ;  it 
failed,  but  its  influence  was  preserved.  It  gave  birth 
to  new  ideas,  and  suggested  the  model  of  institutions 
of  which  but  few  had  dreamed.  As  we  said,  the  Ro- 
man policy  triumphed,  but  these  new  ideas  and  insti- 
tutions began  to  he  adopted  by  kings  and  rulers.  John 
Huss,  in  another  part  of  the  land,  and  by  a  different 
plan  and  measures,  was  seeking  reformation  in  the 
Church.     The  one  was  external,  the  other  internal. 


208  PHILOSOPHY    OF    REFORM. 

The  one  was  the  dead  man  striving  to  awake  and  live, 
the  other  that  of  a  skillful  physician  striving  to  ampu- 
tate the  diseased  members,  and  administer  medicine  to 
purify  the  system.  As  strange  as  it  may  appear,  Huss 
and  his  associate,  Jerome  of  Prague,  were  called  to 
Constance,  and  consigned  to  the  flames.  Those  aris- 
tocratical  ecclesiastics,  though  seeking  a  reformation, 
were  not  willing  it  should  be  effected  by  the  people. 
Though  these  men  perished,  and  many  of  their  fol- 
lowers were  destroyed  in  a  hard  fought  battle,  some 
two  or  three  years  after,  the  spirit  of  the  enterprise  did 
not  die.  It  was  smothered,  but  covering  the  raging 
fires  is  not  putting  them  out,  neither  is  the  healing  of  the 
surface  of  a  putrid  wound  a  perfect  cure.  This  spirit 
thus  awakened  only  awaited  a  more  favorable  oppor- 
tunity, which  it  found  in  the  beginning  of  the  sixteenth 
century,  to  break  out  and  consume  its  adversaries. 

Who  will  doubt  that  truth  was  rapidly  developing 
itself  in  the  latter  part  of  the  middle  ages,  when  he 
remembers  that  at  that  time,  America  was  discovered, 
printing  invented,  and  the  knowledge  of  gunpowder,  the 
mariner's  compass,  engraving  on  copper,  and  making 
paper  from  linen,  were  first  understood  ?  Here  are  in- 
ventions and  facts  that  have  almost  changed  the  entire 
structure  of  society — the  habits,  customs,  business 
and  life  of  man.  In  what  age  do  we  find  more  import- 
ant discoveries'?  Thus  an  all-wise  Providence  was 
managing  all  things  from  the  beginning,  to  develop 
and  establish  the  truth  in  all  things. 

Rome  bequeathed  to  the  world  the  habits,  regula- 
tions and  principles  of  municipal  corporations,  and  the 
idea  of  absolute  power. 

The  barbarians  caused  the  separation  of  temporal 
and  spiritual  power — thus  laying  the  foundation  for  the 


THE    HISTORY    OF    REFORMATION.  J()<) 

liberty  of  conscience — and  taught  the  world  the  senti- 
ment of  personal  freedom. 

The  feudal  system  prepared  the  way  for  the  free 
cities,  and  these  together  created  the  cause  of  the  Cru- 
sades. 

The  Crusades  bound  the  world  together  in  harmony 
of  action,  unlocked  the  human  mind,  created  a  strong 
desire  for  knowledge,  and  thus  gave  a  new  and  mighty 
impulse  to  the  progress  of  truth.  They  were  the  result 
of  the  very  condition  of  society  that  gave  truth  to  them, 
and  without  them  the  world  would  have  remained  for 
a  long  time,  perhaps  for  ages,  destitute  of  the  good 
they  secured  to  it. 

Thus  Providence  rules  and  overrules  to  bring  out 
the  conclusions  of  the  principles  he  establishes.  To  us 
he  moves  slowly,  but  it  is  cheering  and  comforting  to 
know,  that  while  he  is  accomplishing  nothing  visible, 
he  has  not  deserted  the  world,  but  is  preparing  it  for 
the  general  triumph  of  truth.  Infinite  wisdom  directs 
him,  and  he  cannot  err.  Every  movement  bears  the 
impress  of  his  wisdom  and  power.  Where  he  cannot 
consistently  push  things  to  good  and  just  results  at 
once,  he  can  and  will  put  means  in  train,  prepared 
from  afar,  that  shall  overthrow  the  iniquitous  system 
and  give  full  triumph  to  the  truth. 

Who,  then,  will  wonder  that  the  dark  ages  were  per- 
mitted? Has  not  truth  been  established  in  the  world, 
and  preparation  been  made  for  its  perfect  development, 
that  we  cannot  see  how  otherwise  it  could  have  been 
effected  1 

We  shall  see,  in  the  next  chapter,  how  admirably 
and  perfectly  everything  was  prepared  for  the  reforma- 
tion which  followed. 


210  PHILOSOPHY    OF    REFORM. 

Thus  we  can  doubtless  discover  an  intimate  connec- 
tion existing  between  all  events ;  that  each  one  is  caused 
by  preceding  ones,  and  is  a  preparation  for  a  future 
one,  and  that  all  are  dependent  on  the  principle  of  re- 
formation for  existence  and  activity. 


CHAPTKR    IX. 


THE  REFORMATION  OF  THE  SIXTEENTH  CENTURY. 

The  Reformation,  a  crisis— The  beginning  and  end  of  the  Reformation— 
State  of  the  world— State  of  the  Romish  Church— The  cause  of  the  Re- 
formation—The Reformers  defended  against  the  charge  of  inconsist- 
ency—Pure religion  revived— Church  and  State  separated— Freedom  of 
the  mind  increased — The  character  of  Luther. 

In  the  two  preceding  chapters,  we  have  sketched 
the  progress  of  truth  up  to  the  sixteenth  century.  We 
have  been  able  to  give  but  a  brief  outline,  for  it  is  evi- 
dent the  whole  facts  of  this  history  could  not  be  con- 
tained in  a  volume,  but  we  trust  it  will  be  sufficient 
to  illustrate  and  establish  our  theory. 

The  following,  among  other  interesting  facts,  are  now 
apparent,  viz.,  that  there  has  been  a  gradual  advance- 
ment of  the  truth  from  the  beginning ;  that  everything 
has  been  overruled  by  Providence  for  this  purpose  ;  that 
nothing  but  truth  is  stable  and  enduring ;  that  mingling 
error  with  it  will  ever  be  productive  of  great  commo- 
tion, which  will  result  in  establishing  the  latter  deeper 
and  firmer  in  the  world — that  is,  truth  is  advanced 
only  by  alternate  calms  and  storms,  which  are  the  le- 
gitimate result  of  the  operation  of  the  great  reformatory 
plan  that  has  been  devised  ;  that  each  succeeding 
storm  which  has  resulted  in  the  establishment  and  ex- 
tension of  truth,  has  been  fiercer,  longer  and  more  terri- 


212  PHILOSOPHY    OF    REFORM. 

ble  than  the  preceding  one ;  and  that  we  may  expect 
still  greater  commotions  in  the  world  before  truth  shall 
wholly  triumph. 

We  come  now  to  examine  the  Crisis  of  the  events  of 
the  periods  already  noticed.  It  has  doubtless  been  ob- 
served that  these  events  were  all  tending  to  one  great 
end.  That  was  reached  in  the  sixteenth  century. 
The  explosion  of  these  mingling  and  warring  elements 
took  place,  and  produced  what  we  wish  to  consider  in 
this  chapter. 

We  regard  this  event  as  more  fully  and  perfectly 
illustrating  the  manner  in  which  every  crisis  is  formed 
in  the  progress  of  truth,  the  principles  by  the  operation 
of  which  it  is  brought  about,  and  its  glorious  results, 
than  any  other  either  of  modern  or  ancient  date. 

For  ages  preparation  had  been  going  on  to  bring  the 
elements  into  just  that  relation  in  which  we  find  them 
at  the  commencement  of  the  sixteenth  century.  The 
process  had  been  natural,  so  much  so  that  a  casual  ob- 
server would  fail  to  recognize  the  hand  of  Providence  in 
the  movements,  and  would  suppose  that  the  whole  had 
been  conducted  by  some  principle  inwrought  into  the 
very  nature  of  things.  The  result  was  what  might  have 
been  expected  from  the  extensive  preparation,  a  general 
explosion  in  the  moral  world.  Everything  had  been  so 
arranged  that  it  only  needed  some  one  of  sufficient 
wisdom  and  courage  to  clear  away  the  rubbish  and 
apply  the  torch,  and  the  explosion  would  be  general, 
terrible  and  destructive. 

It  is  difficult  to  assign  any  definite  beginning  or  end 
to  the  Reformation.  Its  commencement  was  so  natural 
and  gradual,  and  so  much  the  thing  that  all  men  were 
calling  for,  that  it  came  before  any  one  really  knew  it, 


THE    SIXTEENTH    CENTURY.  213 

and  its  influence  was  so  extensive,  and  became  so  in- 
wrought into  almost  every  department  of  life  in  every 
country,  that  its  end  is  not  yet  reached. 

Many  of  the  political  leaders  of  those  times,  and 
those  linked  to  their  interests,  as  well  as  men  of  almost 
every  class,  were  praying  for  a  reform ;  but  when  it 
came,  it  brought  with  it  such  concomitants  that  they 
were  appalled  and  shrunk  back,  and  fled  to  the  over- 
shadowing wing  of  the  Pope  for  protection.  Thus  it 
has  ever  been:  we  easily  and  readily  approve  the  truth 
in  the  abstract,  but  when  a  practical  reception  is  urp 
we  usually  reject  it.  We  should  always  count  the 
cost  and  be  ready  to  provide  for  the  whole  train  of  at- 
tendants of  our  expected  and  long  looked  for  visitor. 

We  can  fix  no  date  for  the  commencement  of  this 
event  which  will  be  nearer  the  truth  than  December 
10th,  1520;  when  Luther  publicly  burned  at  Wittem- 
berg  the  bull  of  Pope  Leo  X.  by  which  he  was  excom- 
municated, thereby  separating  himself  forever  from 
tin*  communion  of  the  Church.  It  may  be  said  to 
have  ended  when  the  treaty  of  Westphalia  was  con- 
cluded in  the  middle  of  the  seventeenth  century.  At 
least,  from  1520  to  1648,  the  Reformation  was  the 
leading  topic  of  remark,  discussion  and  contention ; 
and  being  the  leading  thought  of  the  world,  it  directed 
and  governed  in  all  things,  so  much  that  every  other 
question  was  subordinate  to  it,  and  partook  of  its  na- 
ture. In  1648  the  world  began  to  think  of  and  legis- 
late about  something  else.  Other  interests  occupied 
the  attention  of  the  Church,  the  nation  and  the  world. 
We  do  not  mean  to  imply  that  the  influence  of  the 
Reformation  was  not  felt  after  this — it  is  felt  yet,  and 
will  be  in  all  coming  time — but  that  at  this  time  it  had 
spent  its  force,  and  had  obtained  the  specific  object  it 


214  PHILOSOPHY    OF    REFORM. 

sought  to  accomplish.  The  system  was  worn  out  and 
laid  aside ;  but,  in  its  last  will  and  testament,  it  be- 
queathed great  good  to  the  world  that  is  still  treasured 
up.  The  feudal  system  and  the  Crusades,  as  we  have 
seen,  had  their  day  and  passed  away,  and  are  now 
known  only  in  history ;  but  the  good  they  left  to  the 
world  is  still  in  existence,  exerting  an  important  influ- 
ence in  human  affairs.  The  same  is  true  of  every 
event. 

Let  us  briefly  examine  the  state  of  the  civil,  religious 
and  philosophical  world  at  the  commencement  of  the 
Reformation. 

The  political  world  was  never  more  peculiarly  situ- 
ated than  when  the  Reformation  broke  out.  France 
and  Spain  had  just  begun  their  fierce  struggle  for  Italy, 
the  German  empire,  and  the  preponderance  in  Euro- 
pean affairs  ;  Austria  had  just  elevated  her  monarch 
among  the  crowned  heads  of  Europe;  and  Henry  VIII. 
of  England  had  commenced  a  regular  and  extensive 
interference  with  the  politics  of  the  Continent.  During 
this  period  France  was  distracted  by  continual  internal 
wars  between  the  Protestants  and  Catholics.  That 
League,  those  strong  struggles  between  the  houses  of 
Guise  and  Valois,  which  ended  by  the  accession  of 
Henry  IV.,  were  the  effect  of  an  effort  of  the  nobles 
to  regain  the  power  they  had  lost.  During  this  time, 
also,  the  great  dispute  in  England  between  the  mon- 
archy and  the  people  commenced.  We  need  not  here 
detail  the  prominent  facts  in  the  history  of  England 
during  this  time — the  reigns  of  Mary  and  Elizabeth, 
and  the  struggle  of  the  latter  against  Philip  II.,  &c. — 
for  they  must  be  familiar  to  all.  Were  it  important, 
Ave  might  mention  the  wars  in  Spain  between  the  In- 
quisition and  civil  and  religious  liberty,  under  their 


THE    SIXTEENTH    CENTURY.  215 

respective  leaders,  the  Duke  of  Alva  nnd  the  Prince 
of  Orange.  Sweden,  too,  came  into  being  in  1523, 
under  Gustu\  us  Yasa.  Through  a  change  in  the  I 
Conic  order  Prussia  was  created,  and  the  northern  pro- 
vinces of  Europe  had  gained  an  influence  they  never 
had  before.  During  the  latter  part  of  the  sixteenth 
century,  Germany  was  at  war  with  the  Turks,  and 
soon  after  commenced  the  Thirty  Years'  War.  We 
might  mention  the  relation  of  France  with  Germany, 
and  the  support  which  the  former  offered  to  the  Pro- 
testant party,  the  accession  of  Louis  XIV.  in  France, 
and  the  great  revolution  in  England  which  dethroned 
Charles  I.,  together  with  the  state  of  things  in  other 
portions  of  the  world,  but  all  these  and  similar  facts 
are  no  doubt  familiar  to  my  readers.  The  mere  men- 
tion of  them  will  serve  to  show  the  universal  commo- 
tion and  war  of  the  elements  that  existed  in  the  civil 
world.  Great  and  wonderful  changes  took  place  in 
every  country  that  had  not  removed  itself  beyond  the 
influence  of  the  world,  all  of  which  can  be  easily 
traced  to  the  influence  of  truth  wrought  out  during 
this  period. 

There  were  no  less  commotions  and  changes  in  the 
Church.  The  old  monastic  orders  lost  all  their  former 
political  influence,  and  were  to  a  great  extent  broken 
up  and  superseded  by  another,  that  of  the  Jesuits. 
The  Council  of  Trent  put  an  end  to  all  the  remaining 
influence  of  the  Councils  of  Constance  and  Basle,  and 
secured  a  permanent  ascendency  of  the  Pope  in  eccle- 
siastical affairs. 

In  the  philosophical  world,  Bacon  and  Descartes 
produced  the  greatest  revolution  of  which  we  have 
any  record  in  history. 

We  may  also  add  in  passing,  as  a  fact  whose  influ- 
10 


216  PHILOSOPHY    OF    REFORM. 

ence  we  will  examine  more  at  length  in  another  place, 
that  at  this  period  the  colonial  system  of  Europe  had 
its  beginning,  and  that  commercial  activity  and  enter- 
prise were  carried  to  an  extent  hitherto  unknown. 

It  is  therefore  evident  that  during  this  period,  as 
in  no  other  of  the  world's  history,  the  human  intellect 
was  awake.  It  had  been  aroused  from  a  long  and 
deep  sleep.  It  now  began  to  demand  its  rights  :  a 
hearing  was  gained,  and  the  result  was  not  only  a 
reform  in  the  Church,  but,  we  might  almost  say,  a 
revolution  in  every  department  of  life. 

With  this  outline-draft,  it  will  be  necessary  to  map 
down  the  state  of  the  Church  more  fully  and  defi- 
nitely. 

Rome  had  obtained  the  height  of  her  ambition. 
The  kingdoms  of  the  world  had  become  subject  to 
a  spiritual  leader,  and  he  ruled  them  as  the  repre- 
sentative of  Christ.  She  had  spread  over  a  vast  terri- 
tory, and  held  under  her  control  the  entire  influence 
of  the  world.  The  Church  was  rich  and  powerful, 
and  laughed  at  every  effort  to  change  her  policy  and 
management.  Her  plans  were  well  laid,  and  she 
pursued  her  accustomed  round  regularly  and  syste- 
matically. She  was  exceedingly  tolerant  of  every- 
thing— rather  officially  unmindful  of  everything,  if 
external  obedience  was  rendered.  Every  point  was 
guarded  firmly,  and  to  one  gazing  upon  her  exter- 
nal greatness  and  power,  she  appeared  invincible,  and, 
indeed,  grand  and  awful  in  her  apparent  dignity  and 
sanctity.  From  her  vast  influence  and  power,  it  was 
quite  natural  that  she  should  think  to  be  able  to 
change  times  and  seasons,  and  arrogate  to  herself  all 
power  on  earth.  We  look  upon  the  Romish  Church, 
as  then  existing,  as  a  huge  mountain,  with  her  broad 


TUB    SIXTEENTH    CENTURY.  £17 

and  firm  structure  i  up  (o  the  heavens,  and 

proudly  defying  any  and  everj  external  poww  i«>.,-, 
ihrow  her.  Ju  truth,  she  could  not  Km  merthruwn  by 
any  Imt  internal  foes.  If  she  ever  falls,  she  must 
come  down  by  the  corrupting  and  decaying  of  her 
internal  machinery — she  must  fall  from  within,  and 
not  from  without.  You  must  drive  the  shaft  to  the 
heart,  and  corrupt  the  fountain,  then  you  will  soon 
see  the  poison-spot  upon  the  green  leaf,  and  tin-  whole 
foliage  beginning  to  wither,  and  the  very  trunk  de- 
caying, whose  dust  will  be  scattered  to  the  winds  of 
heaven. 

What  was  the  internal  condition  of  the  Chun  1 1  I 
A  long  time  before  this,  the  doctrine  of  ii  salvation  by 
works"  had  taken  the  place  of  "salvation  by  grace." 
Here  the  proud  heart  triumphed.  The  salvation  of 
the  soul  was  taken  out  of  the  hands  of  God  and  placed 
in  those  of  the  Pope.  He  was  therefore  able  to 
manage  as  he  thought  most  serviceable  to  his  interests. 
His  treasury  became  empty.  It  had  been  thought  that 
one  drop  of  Christ's  blood  would  atone  for  all  sin,  and, 
inasmuch  as  he  had  shed  his  blood  freely,  a  fund  had 
been  created  for  the  Church,  to  which  being  added 
the  virtues  of  the  good  that  were  the  per  centage 
above  part)f  all  the  acts  absolutely  required,  an  inex- 
haustible fountain  or  treasury  was  established,  from 
which  the  vicegerent  of  Christ  on  earth  might  draw 
at  his  pleasure. 

The  sale  of  indulgences,  a  trade  based  on  this  sur- 
plus revenue  of  holiness,  was  soon  reduced  to  a  system. 
An  individual,  by  giving  a  specific  sum  into  the  trea- 
sury of  the  Church,  the  Pope  having  drawn  out  of  this 
deposit   fund   enough  to  balance   his   transgressions, 


218  PHILOSOPHY    OF    REFORM. 

might  go  his  way  rejoicing,  with  his  sins  canceled  by 
his  own  sacrifice. 

Without  saying  another  word  in  respect  to  the  in- 
ternal condition  of  the  Church,  it  is  evident  her  heart 
had  become  corrupt,  and  the  whole  internal  power 
dead  and  ready  to  decay.  She  was  like  a  "  whited 
sepulchre  full  of  dead  men's  bones."  In  proportion  to 
the  decay  and  ruin  of  her  internal  state,  were  her  ef- 
forts to  beautify  the  external  appearance.  All  men 
believed  her  teaching  and  submitted  to  her  authority ; 
therefore,  had  not  something  sprung  up  that  had  the 
effect  of  introducing  the  torch  of  truth  into  her  dark 
and  deep  caverns,  the  world  would  have  become  long 
ere  this  one  putrid  mass  of  moral  death. 

By  the  previous  management  of  Providence,  as  we 
have  seen,  education  had  been  revived.  This  was  one 
means  of  introducing  light  into  these  dark  caverns  of 
death.  But  under  its  influence,  instead  of  reforming, 
the  Church  grew  worse  and  worse.  This  was  natural, 
for  truth  and  error  cannot  mingle  together  harmoni- 
ously, so  that  the  one  must  drive  out  the  other  and  reign 
supreme.  In  this  case,  the  whole  system  had  become 
thoroughly  purged  of  the  truth,  and  at  the  dawning  of 
the  Reformation,  error  was  in  full  bloom,  the  branches 
of  the  stately  trunk  were  spread  out  into  all  the  world, 
the  thick  foliage  had  shut  out  the  light  and  warmth  of 
the  sun,  and  was  dropping  down  the  poison  of  death 
on  the  already  corrupted  earth.  The  people  had  be- 
come too  stupid  and  dead  to  complain,  except  here  and 
there  one,  and  even  his  feeble  voice  was  soon  stifled 
by  the  smoke  of  the  fagot,  or  lost  to  the  world  in  the 
damp  cell. 

What  shall  be  done?     There  is  no  one  to  give  the 


THE    SIXTEENTH    CENTURY. 

cry  that  shall  electrify  the  whole  mass,  and  start  into 
life  all  that  is  no<  quite  d.-ad.  The  QfeaJ  Invisible  has 
been  watching  events  for  ages.  His  compassion  h;,s 
been  moved  within  him.  He  has  groaned  over  a  woi ftd 
lost  and  ruined.  The  bosom  that  was  covered  with 
blood  and  tears  in  Gethscmanc,  now  swells  in  anguish 
over  the  heart-rending  scene.  He  has  been  preparing 
tlnngs  from  afar  th.u  will  bring  complete  deliverance. 
When  the  time  comes  for  a  crisis,  it  is  seen  that  Prov- 
idence accomplishes  the  greatest  work  by  the  smallest 
means — that  he  hangs  the  heaviest  weight  on  the 
smallest  wires.  His  ways  are  strange  and  mysterious 
until  future  events  unravel  them. 

What  means  that  voice  from  the  clouds,  and  that 
red  thunderbolt  1  To  any  one  but  the  student  of  Er- 
furth,  it  would  have  been  called  thunder,  and  no  more 
notice  taken  of  it.  And  to  him,  indeed,  it  was  thun- 
der, but  no  sound  like  unto  it  had  he  ever  heard.  To 
him  it  was  the  Great  Unknown  speaking  from  the 
heavens.  He  listened  and  obeyed.  Why  does  he 
knock,  in  the  darkness  of  the  night,  at  the  Convent  of 
the  hermits  of  St.  Augustine,  and  gain  admittance? 
It  is  to  pay  unto  God  his  vows.  He  thinks  now  to 
live  a  devout  and  holy  life.  He  seeks  seclusion  from 
the  world  that  he  may  not  become  entangled  therewith. 
But  God  had  a  different  purpose.  He  had  designed 
that  Luther  should  turn  his  eye  down  into  his  own 
heart,  and  the  Bible  that  he  should  find  chained  up 
there,  should  serve  him  as  a  bright  light  in  the  exami- 
nation. How  gloomy  and  dark  that  age  in  which 
there  is  no  light,  and  where  a  poor  despairing  soul  has 
to  be  shut  up  in  a  close,  damp  cell  alone,  and  there  in 
deep  distress  and  anguish  of  spirit  search  out  the  path 
to  heaven. 


220  PHILOSOPHY   OF    REFORM. 

Luther  was  a  sincere  man,  his  whole  being  was  filled 
with  sincerity,  we  must  think  naturally ;  but  most  as- 
suredly after  he  had  heard  that  voice  from  heaven, 
and  abandoned  all  his  earthly  hopes  and  bright  pros- 
pects to  obey  it.  He  was  sincerely  and  earnestly  de- 
voted to  the  pursuit  of  truth.  He  found  it  in  time  by 
a  long  soul-travail,  and  yielded  his  entire  being  to  it, 
and  was  governed  by  it,  so  he  thought,  and  so  we 
think.  He  loved  the  Church  with  which  he  had  been 
so  long  connected.  He  did  not  dream  of  her  corrup- 
tion. •  He  regarded  her,  for  a  long  time,  the  true 
Church  of  Christ.  All  his  efforts,  at  first,  were  to  cor- 
rect abuses,  nothing  more.  He  hoped  the  same  Church 
to  exist  forever.  Some  of  her  ways  he  hated,  for  he 
loved  the  truth.  The  first  that  drew  him  out  was  the 
traffic  of  Tetzel  in  indulgences.  He  had  heard  of  this 
trade  before,  but  it  had  not  affected  him  as  in  this  in- 
stance. He  had  often  heard  the  thunder,  but  only 
once  did  he  recognize  God  in  the  storm.  He  saw  the 
wickedness  of  this  trade,  and  declared  war  against  it 
at  once.  This  was  one  of  the  first  causes  of  the  Refor- 
mation, if  it  be  proper  to  call  it  a  cause.  It  was  rather 
a  plague-spot  upon  the  body  of  the  "  Mother  of  Har- 
lots "  that  attracted  his  attention,  and  caused  him  to 
make  a  thorough  examination  at  a  future  day.  He 
learned  what  he  did  not  expect  to  find,  that  the  Church 
was  corrupt,  that  she  had  lost  her  distinctive  character, 
and  was  indeed  Antichrist.  To  trace  out  the  promi- 
nent events  of  the  Reformation  would  be  to  write  its 
history,  but  we  have  not  time  for  this,  and  indeed  it  is 
not  needful  for  the  illustration  of  our  subject,  our  ob- 
ject being  to  show  that  it  was  the  result  of  the  progress 
of  truth — that  it  was  natural — that  it  could  not  help 
coming,  nor  be  hindered  when  the  time  arrived  for  the 


nil-:    SIXTEENTH    CENTURY.  221 

outburst,  any  more  than  tin  explosion  of  a  volcano  can 
be  stayed  when  the  time  has  come  for  the  dischar- 

Many  causes  have  been  assigned  for  the  Reformat  ion 
— such  as  the  jealousy  that  existed  between  the  Au- 
gustine and  Dominican  monks  on  account  of  the  sale 
of  indulgences;  the  rivalry  of  the  sovereigns  with  the 
ecclesiastical  power,  or  the  desire  of  the  lay  nobility  to 
possess  the  property  of  the  Church.  Others  have 
found  the  cause  in  a  desire  to  redress  abuses  and  rein- 
state the  Church  in  her  former  moral  position;  tin- 
wish  to  bring  her  back  to  her  primitive  purity.  No 
doubt  all  these  causes  had  their  influence  upon  differ- 
ent minds,  and  did,  in  fact,  aid  in  effecting  a  reforma- 
tion, hut  we  suspect  they  will  be  found  to  possess  too 
little  influence,  when  all  combined  even,  to  effect  all 
that  was  accomplished.  Suppose  Providence  does  em- 
ploy the  rivalry,  strife  and  contentions  of  men  to  ad- 
vance the  cause  of  truth,  he  has  a  perfect  right  to  do 
so.  Admitting  that  Luther  had  no  other  motive  but 
jealousy  to  the  Dominican  monks,  which  we  by  no 
means  admit,  this  does  not  prove  but  that  there  may 
have  been  other  overruling  causes  for  the  event.  But 
policy  does  not  lie  at  the  bottom  of  his  actions,  nor  is 
the  asserted  cause,  that  Luther  designed  from  the  be- 
ginning to  remodel  the  Church,  or  form  a  new  one, 
true  in  fact,  for  we  have  the  unqualified  testimony  of 
him  and  those  who  sympathized  with  him,  that  he 
verily  thought  the  Church  of  Rome  to  be  the  true 
Church,  and  that  he  only  labored,  as  a  faithful  minis- 
ter would,  to  remove  from  his  communion  what  he 
regarded  wrong,  but  not  so  extensively  wrong  as  to 
warrant  a  belief  that  the  whole  body  was  dead.  Be- 
sides, he  often  promised  to  abandon  his  labors,  if  hi 


222  PHILOSOPHY    OF    REFORM. 

enemies  would  disturb  and  trouble  him  no  more.  -Now 
he  was  not  the  man  to  promise  any  such  thing-,  if 
he  really  believed  the  Church  corrupt,  as  he  after- 
wards found  her  to  be.  He  loved  the  truth,  and  he 
proved  himself  its  fearless  defender,  in  the  face  of 
death  and  all  devils ;  and  had  he  known  the  whole 
from  the  beginning,  he  could  not  have  been  brought 
to  a  compromise  on  any  conditions. 

This  same  desire  to  correct  existing  abuses  in  the 
Church  had  been  felt  and  experienced  centuries  before 
Luther  lived.  It  was  more  or  less  extensive  at  various 
times,  and  now,  if  this  was  the  cause  of  the  Reforma- 
tion, why  was  it  not  brought  about  at  that  time  1  The 
alarm  had  been  given  and  the  evil  felt,  when  Rome 
was  far  more  tyrannical  than  in  Luther's  time — even 
when  her  iron  heel  was  pressed  deep  into  men's  souls. 
The  Church  had  never  been  more  tolerant  than  in  the 
fifteenth  century.  Her  system  had  become  perfected, 
she  was  confident  of  her  strength,  and  all  she  asked 
was  an  acknowledgment  of  her  existence  and  her  usual 
tributes.  She  was  disposed  to  let  things  take  their 
course,  and  not  suffer  herself  to  be  ruffled  at  every 
ripple  as  formerly,  simply  because  her  character  and 
authority  were  supposed  to  be  firmly  established.  Why, 
then,  did  not  the  world  arise  and  destroy  the  Church 
when  she  was  the  most  tyrannical  and  oppressive, 
if  this  was  the  cause  that  brought  about  the  Reforma- 
tion in  the  sixteenth  century?  The  answer  is  soon 
given,  the  world  was  not  prepared  for  it.  Providence 
knows  best  when  to  bring  out  the  conclusions  of  the 
principles  previously  established  in  the  earth,  and  he 
will  do  it  in  the  soonest  possible  period.  Truth  can- 
not be  forced  or  crowded.     Men  may  cry  out  for  a  re- 


CHE    SIXTEENTH    CENTURY.  o-r} 

form,  ;m«l  attempt  one  but  it  will  not  come  for  this 
Calling,  not  until  tin*  world  is  prepared  to  treat  it  well 
when  it  shall  app»  n. 

From  the  eleventh  to  the  sixteenth  century,  as  we 
have  seen,  the  human  mind  had  been  rapidly  expand- 
ing. It  was  evident,  truth  was  pushing  out  the  mind 
in  every  direction.  The  arts  and  sciences,  literatim 
and  all  learning,  had  been  revived.  The  world  had 
begun  to  think  together.  Its  mind  was  weighed  down 
with  accumulated  knowledge.  Yet  it  was  shut  up 
soul  and  body  in  the  bosom  of  the  Church.  Like  a 
huge  mountain,  she  had  locked  up  tin;  world  in  its 
deep  caverns.  Men  were  walled  in  by  her  strength. 
They  could  not  think  but  just  so  high,  so  deep,  and 
just  so  far  in  this  and  that  direction.  But  the  mind 
began  to  expand,  and  its  prison-house  soon  became  too 
straight.  Men  became  so  much  enlightened  that  they 
would  think  up  into  the  heavens,  and  down  into  their 
deep  hearts.  This  expanded  mind  began  to  press  the 
walls  heavily.  A  universal  uproar  was  caused,  and 
not  till  then  did  the  world  learn  that  its  soul  was  fet- 
tered. It  had  been  in  bonds  for  ages,  but  the  chains 
were  as  long  as  men  cared  to  travel,  and  their  prison 
was  as  large  as  they  felt  their  need  of;  but  when  they 
could  think  no  farther,  when  their  minds  had  ex- 
panded to  the  full  dimensions  of  the  enclosure,  they 
were  astonished  to  find  chains  upon  their  feet  and 
manacles  upon  their  hands,  and  their  free  spirits  pent 
up  within  dark  and  narrow  walls.  It  was  outraged, 
indignant,  and  swore  vengeance  at  once.  The  result 
was  a  universal  insurrection  of  mind  against  spiritual 
rule.  We  call  it  the  "  Reformation  of  the  sixteenth 
century,"  but,  more  properly,  it  was  the  expanded 
mind  of  the  world  bursting  its  prison-house,  in  which 
10* 


224  PHILOSOPHY    OF    REFORM. 

it  had  been  shut  up  for  ages.  It  was  the  soul  of  man 
rising  in  its  native  strength,  and  demanding  the  right 
to  think,  to  feel,  to  judge,  and  to  act  freely  and  inde- 
pendently. It  was  the  out-reaching  thought,  that  had 
been  generating  through  all  the  dark  ages,  bursting  its 
iron  casement,  and  piercing  the  very  heart  of  "  Mother 
Church,"  and  leaving  her  to  die  and  be  scattered  to 
the  winds. 

What  a  simple  cause !  It  was  a  simple  power  laid 
down  in  the  world's  heart,  and  built  around  firmly  and 
strongly ;  so  much  the  better,  for,  consequently,  longer, 
louder,  and  more  terrible  will  be  its  thunder,  and  more 
thoroughly  will  it  break  up  the  iron  frame-work  of  op- 
pression, when  it  shall  explode.  The  Pope  had  no 
fear  of  that  little  stream  that  he  saw,  from  the  classical 
school,  running  down  through  the  crevices  of  the  rocks, 
for  he  knew  he  would  be  able  to  freeze  it  before  it 
could  refresh  the  withered  and  decaying  plants  of  the 
earth.  But  what  of  that,  has  the  Pope  baffled  an  all- 
wise  Providence  in  his  undertaking  ?  It  has  been  pur- 
posed that  the  sun  shall  shine  upon  these  plants,  and 
the  refreshing  dew  shall  enliven  them;  therefore,  O 
Pope !  Refrigerator  !  thou  shalt  be  taken  in  thine  own 
net ;  thou  art  cursed  of  God,  and  that  very  stream  thou 
hast  frozen — its  ice  thou  hast  formed  from  the  pure 
water  trickling  through  the  rocks — shall  burst  them, 
and  man  shall  be  free. 

Here,  we  think,  will  be  found  the  true  cause  of  the 
Reformation.  Now,  let  us  suppose  when  the  world 
arose  and  demanded  a  redress  of  grievances,  the  Church 
had  granted  all  that  was  demanded.  Suppose  she  had 
reformed  herself,  and  returned  to  the  primitive  stand- 
ard of  doctrine  and  faith.  Suppose  all  that  Luther, 
or  any  of  his  party  or  followers,  sought,   had  been 


Till:    siviKKNTH    CENTURY. 

granted  by  the  Church,  and  she  still  had  maintained  Iter 

right  to  rule  and  govern  the  human  mind,  as  in  I i 

times,  would  Luther  and  the  world  have  horn  satisfied  I 
They  might,  for  a  while,  until  they  found  the  cause 
was  not  in  the  ahi/scs  and  wrongs  of  the  Church,  or 
that  this  reform  could  not  give  them  what  they  sought 
and  demanded.  A  little  child  will  be  satisfied  with  i 
stone,  when  he  has  asked  for  bread,  until  he  finds  out  the 
humer  is  not  food  ;  so  the  world  might  have  been  sat- 
isfied for  I  while,  but  the  time  would  come,  when  the 
cry  for  liberty  and  freedom  to  think  and  act  would  be 
universal,  and  the  vengeance  of  an  outraged  world 
would  be  poured  upon  the  head  of  the  deceiver. 

The  effort  thus  being  to  break  up  and  remodel, 
makes  the  Reformation  essentially  a  revolution  in  its 
character.  At  least  this  was  the  result,  and  although 
men  did  not  seek  this  directly,  it  was  because  they 
knew  not  the  cause  that  moved  them — neither  what 
would  be  a  permanent  relief  or  cure — in  other  words, 
they  knew  not  what  they  wanted.  They  were  restless 
and  active.  Something  must  be  done.  They  saw 
nothing  to  do  but  war  with  the  Church  on  account  of 
her  sins,  not  dreaming  that  the  cause  of  their  uneasi- 
ness was  in  the  oppression  of  their  minds. 

Here  we  may  account  for  their  thousand  inconsist- 
encies and  foolish  plans,  for  which  they  were  ridiculed, 
and  will  be  forever.  Their  route  was  necessarily 
crooked,  for  they  sought  but  one  thing,  the  only  thing 
they  saw  within  their  reach,  though  an  unseen  hand 
was  guiding  them  to  secure  another  object.  With  this 
view  of  the  facts,  we  cannot  blame  them,  but  rather 
look  upon  their  inconsistent  and  crooked  ways  as 
proofs  of  their  sincerity,  and  of  the  fact,  that  they  la- 


226  PHILOSOPHY    OF    REFORM. 

bored  without  any  preconcerted  plan,  which  makes  it 
almost  self-evident  that  the  work  was  of  God. 

They  had  no  system  to  defend,  neither  did  they 
understand  the  principles  that  governed  them.  This 
will  account  for  the  multiplicity  of  sects  that  sprung-  up 
during  that  period.  The  human  mind  had  broken 
through  its  trammels,  and  men  began  to  think  for 
themselves.  All  this  had  been  accomplished  without 
aiming  at  the  establishment  of  any  system.  It  was 
not  to  remove  the  old  to  give  place  to  a  new  organi- 
zation, that  had  been  projected  beforehand,  which  pro- 
duced the  Reformation,  therefore  all  were  left  free  to 
form  around  whom  they  chose.  And  as  the  views  and 
principles  of  the  Reformers  were  not  fully  understood 
by  themselves,  and  systematized,  it  was  natural  that 
different  and  various  sects  should  be  formed.  And 
also,  when  these  sects  became  numerous,  instead  of  be- 
coming tolerant,  and  laboring  to  convince  by  the  truth, 
they  became  persecutors  in  their  turns,  and  plead  ne- 
cessity for  it — and  even  the  right,  from  the  fact  that 
they  alone  held  the  truth  in  its  purity.  In  this  way  the 
ruling  party  had  treated  the  minor  ones,  just  as  the 
whole  had  been  treated  by  the  Romish  Church.  The 
reason  for  this  apparent  hypocrisy  is  soon  given.  They 
had  obtained  nothing  in  their  hard  struggle  but  freedom 
from  spiritual  rule — the  tyranny  of  the  Pope.  That 
generation  had  become  so  perfectly  imbued  with  the 
doctrine  of  the  supremacy  of  the  Church,  as  an  eccle- 
siastical organization,  that  it  was  not  so  easy  a  thing, 
after  all,  to  throw  off  its  influence.  Indeed,  they  did 
not  do  this,  even  professedly;  they  only  refused  to  obey 
it,  because  they  believed  it  to  be  Antichrist.  They 
supposed  they  possessed  the  truth,  and,  therefore,  all 


THE    SIXTEENTH    CENTURY.  297 

men  ought  to  submit  to  their  authority.  This  is  ano- 
ther proof  I  hi!  tlir  result  Weill  far  heyoiul  their  expec- 
tations, and  that  far  more  was  obtained  than  they  were 
preparedfor.  They  did  not  imagine  that  nun  have  the 
right  to  think  as  they  choose,  whether  right  or  wrong. 
They  supposed  they  had  no  right  to  think,  unless  they 
thought  right,  and  as  it  always  happens  in  such  cases, 
the  standard  of  right  was  the  one  they  had  erected. 
Their  system,  so  far  as  they  had  one,  was  similar  to  that 
of  the  Romish  Church,  while  at  the  same  time  they 
were  of  an  entirely  different  character.  That  is,  they 
managed  with  truth,  just  as  the  Romanists  had  done 
with  error,  therefore  they  arejustly  liable  to  the  charges 
that  from  that  day  to  this  have  been  made  against  them 
— charges  of  inconsistency  and  narrowness  of  views. 

It  will  not  do,  at  the  present  day,  to  stop  and  la- 
ment the  folly  of  the  leaders  of  the  Reformation  in 
these  respects,  any  more  than  it  will  to  cover  up  or 
deny  these  charges.  We  should  have  done  as  they 
did — if,  indeed,  as  well — had  we  been  there.  These 
were  sincere  and  in  earnest,  and  followed  all 
they  saw  of  truth.  They  did  as  well  as  could  be 
done  at  that  time.  They  performed  a  great  work, 
and  its  influence  will  be  felt  and  acknowledged  in  all 
coming  time ;  but  it  was  by  no  means  a  perfect  work, 
or  as  great  as  the  world  is  preparing  to  witness. 

What  was  the  effect  of  the  Reformation  1  It  revived 
pure  and  undefined  religion.  The  leading  idea,  indeed 
the  rollying-cry  of  this  enterprise,  was  "  Salvation  by 
grace."  This  was  the  voice  of  Heaven,  that  broke 
the  spell  in  which  Luther  and  others  had  been  held, 
as  with  chains,  for  years.  It  was  when  he  was  climb- 
ing the  steps  of  St.  Peter's,  at  Rome,  upon  his  knees, 
that  this  alarm-bell  was  struck  in  his  soul,  so  that  he 


228  PHILOSOPHY    OF    REFORM. 

was  unnerved,  and  quaked  with  fear.  It  was  repeated 
and  echoed  through  Germany  and  the  world,  and 
found  its  response  in  a  thousand  hearts.  Hitherto, 
God  had  been  worshiped  by  proxy.  The  priest  and 
the  Pope  had  possessed  all  the  religion,  and  they 
greatly  enjoyed  the  monopoly  in  dealing  out  piety 
from  the  general  treasury  for  cash.  The  people  had 
but  little  personal  concern  for  themselves,  but  trusted 
to  the  Church  for  salvation.  But,  by  the  Reforma- 
tion, men  were  taught  that  religion  is  a  personal  con- 
cern ;  that  God  holds  direct  communication  with  the 
soul  through  the  medium  of  faith  ;  that  Christ  had  made 
an  atonement  for  sin,  and  that  a  holy  heart  and  a  cor- 
responding life  was  what  God  required  ;  therefore, 
they  needed  not  a  priest,  penance  and  sacrifices  to 
atone  for  sin  and  secure  a  mansion  in  heaven,  but 
personal  religion. 

It  also  woke  up  free  inquiry,  and  turned  the  minds 
.of  men  to  the  examination  of  their  own  hearts  in  reli- 
gious matters.  The  field  of  faith  was  now  open  to  all, 
and  not  only  this,  but,  as  we  have  said,  the  truth,  as 
it  was  delivered  to  the  saints  in  primitive  times,  in  all 
its  main  essentials,  was  preached;  and  men  were  re- 
quired to  be  born  again,  to  live  an  humble  and  devout 
life,  to  gain  heaven.  The  doctrine  of  "  salvation  by 
works"  was  rejected,  and  the  true  doctrine  of  free 
grace  through  Christ  was  heartily  embraced. 

A  separation  was  also  effected  between  temporal 
and  spiritual  power,  or  between  what  we  call  the 
Church  and  State.  This  separation  was  not  perfect, 
but  the  truth  from  henceforth  was  able  to  stand  alone 
unaided  by  the  State,  and  in  like  manner  the  latter 
became  independent  of  the  former.  The  world  learned 
it  would  not  do  for  the   Church  to  manage  in  State 


it  l»BJ 

OPTU 

ITERS 

tin:    mmii.mu   CENTURY*     *        Qfo 

affairs — that    (Ins    was    n,,i    h,r   pi  ovmce,  fm£^fwlRC*k 
was  contrai  v  t«>  hei  iiaiinc,  or  the  spirit  of  religion. 

Were  ii  important  to  speak  of  the  temporal  benefits 
of  tin*  Reformation,  we  might  mention  the  increase  of 
freedom  of  the  mind.  The  circumstances  under  whirh 
it  took  place  were  of  almost  an  Infinite  variety,  yet  in 
no  case  diil  it  change  the  outward  condition  of  things. 
The  political  institution  of  every  country  in  which 
the  Reformation  was  received  remained  the  same.  In 
Germany,  the  government  was  almost  an  absolute 
monarchy,  yet  it  remained  such  after  it  had  declan  <l 
for  the  Reformation.  The  power  of  the  princes  was  in 
no  case  changed,  but  rather  strengthened.  Holland 
still  remained  a  republic,  and  England  a  constitu- 
tional monarchy.  This  was  owing  to  the  fact  that  it 
sought  only  to  give  freedom  to  the  human  mind. 
This  was  gained  wherever.it  spread,  no  matter  how 
adverse  might  be  the  circumstances.  We  may  natu- 
rally be  surprised  that  it  did  not  produce  revolution 
in  every  state,  and  mould  and  fashion  them  after  a 
righteous  model  republic,  but  the  time  had  not  come 
for  this,  nor  has  it  yet  come,  though  it  is  approaching 
fast.  However  this  may  be,  the  Reformation  did  suc- 
ceed, in  spite  of  every  obstacle  and  difficulty,  in  pro- 
ducing' freedom  of  thought  everywhere.  Look  at 
Germany,  her  political  system  strengthened  by  it,  and 
though  opposed  to  all  the  free  institutions  of  the  middle 
ages,  yet  allowing  greater  freedom  of  thought  than 
any  other  country.  In  England,  too,  in  spite  of  the 
religious  tyranny,  that  was  exceedingly  severe  for  a 
long  time,  the  same  good  effects  were  manifest.  In 
France,  also — the  less  likely  to  be  thus  affected  than 
any  other  country  in  the  world — the  minds  of  men, 
and  their  institutions,  became  free  and  independent. 


230  PHILOSOPHY    OF    REFORM. 

What  mean  those  conferences  of  Bossuet  with  Claude, 
and  all  those  religious  contentions  of  that  period  ? 
What  means  that  tract  and  pamphlet  war  between  the 
old  and  new  school  1  Just  this — the  triumph  of  the 
mind  in  the  struggle  to  think  for  itself  in  religious 
matters.  Men  were  not  as  free  in  political  and  other 
matters  as  in  religious.  Had  they  dared  to  be  as  bold 
and  fearless  in  everything  else,  they  would  have  lost 
their  heads  for  the  presumption.  The  truth  is,  they 
did  not  feel  the  need  of  greater  freedom,  as  citizens, 
than  what  they  enjoyed — and,  indeed,  they  did  not 
need  it.  The  inclosure  was  of  sufficient  dimensions 
for  them  to  find  full  play  for  their  faculties.  A  peo- 
ple unprepared  for  a  republican  government  by  their 
ignorance  and  vice,  will  not  feel  the  need  of  it,  and 
ought  not  to  receive  it.  They  could  not  be  more  bit- 
terly cursed  than  to  receive  the  gift  of  freedom  when 
they  were  not  prepared  for  it.  He  who  knows  nothing 
of  the  value  of  wealth,  neither  feels  the  need  of  it, 
nor  seeks  it,  but  is  content  with  his  bow  and  quiver 
and  fishing-tackle. 

It  mattered  not  whether  the  Reformation  was  suc- 
cessful or  conquered,  its  influence  everywhere  was  to 
secure  great  progress  in  mental  activity  and  freedom. 
With  this  it  was  content.  When  this  was  gained,  it 
accommodated  itself  to  every  form  of  government,  and 
to  every  situation.  In  one  state  it  almost  yielded  to 
servitude,  while  in  another  it  consented  to  a  form  of 
ecclesiastical  government  very  similar  to  that  which  had 
ever  existed .  in  the  Romish  Church.  All  these 
and  like  facts  must  be  well  understood  and  studied, 
before  we  are  prepared  to  form  a  correct  judgment 
respecting  this,  the  greatest  of  all  modern  events. 

Thus,  the  crisis,  for  which  the  world  had  been  in 


THK    sflCTEENTH    CENTUEY.  MM 

active  preparation  for  ages,  ramc,  wrought  all  the 
good  within  its  power,  and  passed  awa\ .  h  hn,  <{  up 
the  world  to  a  mpN  aleyated  level  than  it  had  ever 
before  attained.  Thai  position  will  never  be  receded 
from  ;  but  it  is  not  the  highest  level,  therefore,  what 
folly  to  be  therewith  content.  The  world  is  now  in 
active  work  for  another  crisis.  Its  shadow  has  ftlreadj 
come.  But  even  this  may  not  succeed  in  raising  the 
world  to  that  position  in  the  scale  of  being  for  which 
it  was  created.  If  not,  another  and  still  another  will 
be  hastened,  until  the  work  is  fully  accomplished. 

To  give  a  full  understanding  of  all  the  facts  in  the 
case,  and  the  principles  by  which  the  Reformation 
was  conducted,  and  for  the  purpose  of  making  the 
lesson  of  instruction  more  full  and  clear,  it  may  be 
important  to  exhibit  Luther  himself  as  a  reformer — 
at  least,  modern  reformers  may  here  find  a  model  that 
will  be  serviceable  to  copy. 

Luther  was  an  earnest  man.  He  entered  into  his 
work  with  his  whole  soul,  and  enlisted  every  energy 
within  him  in  the  work.  He  had  found  the  truth 
after  long  and  severe  study  and  labor,  and  embraced 
it.  He  loved  it  with  unbounded  affection,  and  sought 
with  ceaseless  endeavor  to  develop  it  from  among  the 
rubbish  of  ages.  His  words,  his  speech,  his  actions, 
all  his  movements  were  alive.  They  seem  to  flash 
right  out  of  him,  and  when  he  strikes,  it  is  with  a 
well-directed,  heavy  and  earnest  blow  into  the  very 
heart  of  his  enemy.  His  earnestness  is  not  by  "  fits 
and  starts,"  which  shrink  into  deadness  when  the  pas- 
sion subsides.  His  very  flesh  is  in  earnest,  his  eye, 
his  countenance,  his  whole  being.  This  was  all  need- 
ful in  that  age  and  at  that  time — needful,  indeed,  in 
any  undertaking  of  the  kind,  and  at  any  time.     The 


232  PHILOSOPHY    OF    REFORM. 

work  to  be  done  was  great,  with  a  thousand  obstacles 
and  opposing  influences  on  every  side.  One  needs, 
also,  to  be  in  earnest  to  inspirit  others,  to  keep  up 
courage  amid  discouragements,  and  to  give  full  effect 
to  all  other  powers  of  the  man.  All  this  Luther  found 
true ;  so  did  Columbus,  out  upon  the  wide  and  un- 
known sea,  amid  the  murmuring  and  mutiny  of  his 
men ;  so,  too,  every  great  man,  who  performs  great 
deeds  in  this  world,  will  need  to  be  in  earnest. 

Luther  was  sincere.  He  was  no  hypocrite.  He 
had  no  object  but  the  one  he  professed  and  sought 
openly.  Otherwise,  he  never  would  have  suffered  and 
sacrificed  all  he  did  to  gain  it — otherwise,  he  would 
have  appealed  to  arms  in  defence  of  a  previously  or- 
ganized system,  which  would  have  been  a  war  for  his 
own  aggrandizement.  He  had  no  wavering  in  his 
mind  in  respect  to  the  truth  he  advocated.  It  had 
been  wrought  out  in  his  very  soul,  amid  scenes  of  sor- 
row and  anguish,  in  his  damp  cell,  and  became  a  "fixed 
fact"  in  his  existence — it  was  welded  to  his  spirit,  and 
a  part  of  his  being.  He  felt  it,  and  his  words  were  the 
overflowings  of  his  heart,  the  expression  of  those 
thoughts  and  ideas  he  knew  to  be  true.  You  cannot 
read  a  letter  of  his  without  being  struck  with  his  earn- 
estness and  sincerity.  He  was  no  trifler  or  jester, 
sometimes  sarcastic,  while  his  irony  was  blighting, 
blistering,  and  killing,  yet  every  expression  coming 
from  a  full,  honest  heart.  He  was  solemn  and  serious, 
otherwise  he  never  could  have  been  sincere.  A  sincere 
man  engaged  in  a  great  and  good  work  cannot  be  light 
and  jesting.  The  very  greatness  of  the  work  will  make 
him  serious.  Indeed,  everything  of  which  a  man  is 
possessed,  save  it  be  a  few  minor,  floating  passions,  is 
serious.    His  judgment,  reason,  conscience — all  act  se- 


THE    SIXTEENTH    CENTURY.  233 

riously  and  sincerely.  Such  a  man  can  smile  and  laugh. 
Luther  could,  hut  it  was  the  awaking  of  the  deep  foun- 
tains of  the  soul  into  harmony  with  feature  and  na- 
ture's God.  One  of  your  light  and  everlasting  laugh- 
ers never  laughs — his  soul  is  never  stirred — the  surface 
is  rippled,  that  is  all.  Therefore,  when  we  see  a  man 
engaged  in  the  prosecution  of  any  great  work  with  a 
light  and  frivolous  spirit,  we  conclude  he  is  not  in 
earnest,  neither  sincere,  but  a  hypocrite — a  downright 
knave  or  a  fool.  We  cannot  engage  in  any  useful 
labor  without  sincerity.  Luther's  work  had  reference 
to  the  destinies  of  men.  It  reached  up  into  heaven, 
and  onward  through  the  coming  year  of  endless  ages. 
Why  should  he  not  be  sincere  and  serious  ?  He  stood 
up  alone  for  the  truth  :  God  was  with  him — he  felt 
that.  Why,  then,  should  he  not  be  sad  and  earnest, 
engaged  in  such  a  work,  and  constantly  in  the  pres- 
ence of  the  Great  Invisible? 

He  was  also  firm  and  fearless.  No  man  was  ever 
more  so.  His  firmness  sometimes  amounted  almost 
to  stubbornness ;  still,  he  was  liberal — at  first,  more 
liberal  than  was  for  his  good,  more  than  enlightened 
charity  would  sanction,  and  more  than  he  would  have 
been,  had  he  known  what  was  to  be  in  after  years. 
But  lie  did  not  possess  the  stubbornness  of  a  fanatic  or  a 
bigot.  It  was  necessary  that  one  in  his  station  should 
be  inflexible.  He  has  left  us  proof  enough  that  he 
would  willingly  have  been  liberal,  sufficiently  so  to 
abandon  the  Reformation,  had  the  truth  permitted  him. 
He  must  have  been  firm,  or  he  would  have  been 
swamped  amid  those  perilous  scenes.  Firm  ;  even 
when  his  friends  interposed  with  tears,  he  held  the 
helm  firm  amid  the  world's  upheaving,  while  he  took 
in  at  a  glance  all  the  perils  that  surrounded  him. 


234  PHILOSOPHY    OF    REFORM. 

He  believed  in  devils,  so  did  all  men  at  that  day. 
He  believed  these  infernal  fiends  had  power  to  tempt 
and  torment  men  in  this  world,  therefore  his  remarks 
to  his  friends  who  would  dissuade  him  from  attending 
the  Diet  of  Worms,  "  that  he  would  go,  though  there 
were  as  many  there  as  tiles  on  the  houses."  This 
was  no  vain  and  foolish  brag  of  an  excited  bully  and 
coward.  He  believed  that  hosts  of  these  wicked  spir- 
its might  be  there  to  injure  him,  but  he  had  bid  defi- 
ance to  all  devils  and  all  enemies.  In  his  stay  upon 
the  heights  of  the  Wartburg,  he  saw  a  devil  in  a  men- 
acing attitude,  while  he  was  translating  the  Bible. 
He  did  not  run,  but  hurled  his  inkstand  at  his  head. 
He  who  will  not  flee  before  madmen  and  devils  has 
given  us  proof  enough  of  his  fearlessness.  Some  of 
his  early  history  would  indicate  that  he  was  naturally 
timid,  but  a  clear  and  full  conviction  of  the  truth  made 
him  fearless — it  will  make  any  man  fearless.  Every 
other  kind  of  courage  is  dog-sullenness  and  stubborn- 
ness. There  is  nothing  strong,  nothing  invincible  and 
invulnerable,  nothing  imperishable  but  truth,  and  he 
who  has  it  ought  not  and  will  not  fear. 

No  one  can  read  over  the  history  of  Luther  without 
being  struck  with  his  generousness  and  kindness  of 
heart.  There  was  nothing  narrow  and  small  about 
him,  but  everything  of  which  his  mind  and  heart 
were  composed  was  great  and  good.  He  could  feel, 
keenly  and  deeply  feel !  He  had  his  friends,  and 
loved  them.  It  grieved  him  to  grieve  them.  He  and 
his  Maker  alone  knew  how  much  bitterness  and 
sorrow  he  felt  from  the  timidity  of  his  friends,  and 
their  strong  entreaties  that  he  should  abandon  his 
work  !  Neither  was  he  a  coarse,  rough  man,  but 
possessed  a  sensitive  nature.     His  love  of  music,  and 


THE    SIXTEENTH    CENTURY.  |§| 

his  strong  attachment  to  Ins  lunily  proves  this,  while 
his  whole  life  shows  he  would  not  hurt  a  hair  of  an 
enemy's  head,  could  it  be  avoided.  Kindness  and 
love  welled  up  from  his  heart,  as  pure*  water  from  the 
rocks.  It  was  ever  fresh  and  natural,  not  a  counter  - 
feited,  sentimental,  affected,  hence  insipid  friendship. 
Luther's  intellect,  as  well  as  his  courage  and  faith, 
was  strong.  It  was  also  quick  and  accurate.  We 
may  call  him  a  strong  man  of  whose  like  this  world 
can  boost  but  few.  His  words  were  strong,  so  were 
his  actions  and  his  thoughts^  He  was  made  up  of 
strong  material,  for  he  was  composed  of  truth.  During 
his  boyhood,  he  had  naught  to  do  with  anything  but 
realities,  and  nothing  but  realities  had  anything  to  do 
with  him.  Had  he  been  made  up  of  tinsel  and  arti- 
ficial stuff — had  he  been  a  hothouse  plant,  a  mere 
"  tailor-made  man,"  and  depended  on  the  cut  of  his 
coat  and  length  of  his  purse  for  success,  he  would  have 
cowered  beneath  the  frown  of  the  haughty  Pontiff. 
Had  his  strength,  on  the  other  hand,  consisted  in 
whirlwinds  of  passion  and  storms  of  rage,  he  could 
never  have  thrown  down  the  colossus  which  had  en- 
gaged the  world  in  its  building  for  so  many  years.  It 
needed  some  one  to  grapple  earnestly  with  the  monster 
and  gird  with  bars  of  truth,  and  thus  press  out  his  life 
at  once.  Neither  did  his  strength  consist  in  saying 
hard  and  severe  things,  nor  in  denunciation  and  cen- 
soriousness.  The  instrument  he  struck  with  was  not 
a  coarse,  dull  blade,  with  which  he  marred  the  flesh, 
and  tore  the  nerves,  and  broke  the  bones  of  his  enemy, 
but  polished  and  keen-edged  truth,  steel  to  the  very 
point,  which  he  aimed  at  the  heart  of  his  foey  and 
severed  it  in  twain.  He  was  a  firm  mountain  of  rock, 
immovable  as  the  hills,  and  his  words  were  like  fierce 


236  PHILOSOPHY    OF    REFORM. 

thunderbolts  that  shivered  every  timber  of  his  enemy's 
citadel  and  razed  it  to  its  foundation.  This,  however, 
was  not  all  owing  to  his  strength.  Providence  had 
prepared  the  way  for  him  by  leading  out  and  chaining 
up  the  monster,  and  marking  the  vulnerable  spot. 
Other  men  may  have  possessed  as  much  strength  as 
he  did,  but  they  were  not  called  to  the  task.  They 
neither  knew  when  nor  where  to  strike. 

Another  prominent  trait  in  Luther's  character,  and 
one  indispensably  necessary  in  every  reformer,  was 
moral  courage.  We  do  not  mean  physical  courage — 
a  browbeating  and  narrow-minded  audacity — but  a 
fearlessness  in  meeting  danger,  arising  from  the  con- 
sciousness of  the  truth  that  governed  him.  Neither  do 
we  mean  he  was  savage,  like  the  lion,  but  possessed 
of  cool,  deliberate  fearlessness,  caused  alone  by  his 
convictions  of  truth.  He  did  not  trust  to  his  powers  of 
eloquence,  or  his  argument.  Indeed,  a  fearless  man 
never  thinks  of  trusting  in  this  or  that,  neither  is  he  on 
the  lookout  for  danger.  He  has  examined  the  coast 
and  sounded  the  channel,  and  counted  the  cost,  and 
lie  cares  not  when  danger  comes.  He  pursues  his 
course  calmly,  unruffled,  with  dignity,  having  no 
eye  out  for  danger,  not  being  commissioned  to,  watch 
for  it.  So  Luther,  amid  the  thousand  scenes  in  which 
he  was  called  to  act,  was  calm  and  unmoved,  when 
all  other  men  were  terribly  excited.  When  he  entered 
that  most  august  assembly  at  Worms,  composed  of  two 
hundred  men  of  the  chief  rank,  he  was  the  only  man 
there  undisturbed  and  calm.  The  excitement  among 
the  soldiers  and  people  was  tremendous,  and  most  as- 
suredly the  leading  men  did  not  consider  it  a  thing  of 
small  moment  to  hear  the  defence  of  an  already  ex- 
communicated  member  of  the   Church.     See,    how 


THE    SIXTEENTH    CENTURY.  237 

ralm  and  fearless  how  h<  •  deli<  -s  1 1 1. -in,  and  I  lie  u  Iml.  • 
a, mi  of  Komi'.  How  firm  ami  unwavering  his  confi- 
dence in  the  (ruth.  He  well  knew  thai  should  Ins 
ashes  be  thrown  to  the  winds,  a  thousand  troops  would 
spring  from  them  to  pursue  lus  enemies  unto  death. 
What  a  noble  figure  he  here  presents ;  composed,  dig- 
nified, sincere,  kind  and  earnest,  he  towers  above  all 
around  him,  and  moves  through  the  crowd  with  dig- 
nity and  majesty.  He  feels  great,  not  proud — his 
thcmghts  and  emotions  are  great,  so  are  his  words — all 
is  great.  See  that  cloud-capt  mountain,  based  in  (lie 
In  an  of  the  world — when  the  foundations  of  the  great 
dt •« -j)  are  broken  up,  and  the  elements  are  raging  with 
fearfll]  impetuosity;  when  the  heavens  are  gathering 
l»la« -kncss,  and  the  deep-rolling  thunder  is  heard; 
when  the  waves  are  uplifted,  as  by  the  strength  of 
omnipotence,  and  dashed  in  maddened  fury  on  the 
shore — stands  firm  and  unshaken.  Its  green  covering 
and  bright  flowers  are  destroyed,  and  its  deep  caverns 
swept  of  their  rich  treasures,  yet  the  mountain  stands. 
This  is  Luther.  There  is  something  noble  and  sub- 
lime in  him — in  all  his  movements — and  in  nothing 
more  than  in  the  exhibition  of  his  moral  courage.  We 
must  love  and  admire  him.  He  had  his  faults,  who 
has  not  ?  He  stumbled  in  many  things,  who  would 
have  walked  more  erect  and  strong  1  He  was  led  by 
an  unseen  hand — guided  whither  he  did  not  at  first 
dream — but  he  followed  submissively,  as  did  Abraham, 
though  he  knew  not  whither  he  went. 

What  were  Luther's  plans  ?  He  had  but  few,  if  any. 
His  enemies  say  he  had  none.  They  contend  he  la- 
bored without  system,  being  driven  on  by  ambition, 
and  a  blind,  fanatical  zeal.  Not  so;  we  have  cleared 
him  of  this.     He  did  have  plans,  and  it  would  be  well 


238  PHILOSOPHY    OF    REFORM. 

if  all  men,  and  those  who  hate  him,  had  as  good. 
They  may  be  summed  up  in  two.  The  first  was  this. 
A  full  and  settled  decision  to  follow  the  truth,  whither- 
soever it  might  lead  him.  This  would  make  him  care- 
ful and  thorough  in  his  investigations,  and  what  ap- 
peared to  be  right  he  would  receive  and  follow.  A 
noble  plan  this,  and  safe.  We  admit,  as  we  have  al- 
ready done,  that  he  did  not  understand  the  great  prin- 
ciples by  which  the  enterprise  was  carried  on,  for  he 
did  not  look  down  into  the  centre  of  things ;  indeed  he 
could  not,  for  the  rubbish  ;  but  what  he  saw  of  truth,  he 
followed,  and  what  he  saw  of  wrong  he  fought,  there- 
fore, his  pathway  was  somewhat  crooked, being  without 
regularity  and  system.  He  was  thrown  into  the  midst 
of  his  enemies,  and  he  cut  and  hewed  on  all  sides. 
He  had  no  well-defined  system  of  tactics,  yet  he  slew 
thousands,  and  triumphed.  This  too  may  account  for 
his  charity  for  the  Church  for  a  long  while.  He  was 
all  truth  himself,  and  he  thought  others  were.  He  who 
is  honest  himself  will  not  suspect  others  of  dishonesty. 
We  scarcely  ever  judge  others  but  by  ourselves,  from 
the  fact  that  our  opinions  of  men  and  things  are  ob- 
tained from  what  we  have  learned  of  ourselves. 

The  other  plan,  to  which  reference  has  been  made, 
is  this,  viz.,  a  determination  to  work  out  the  princi- 
ples of  truth  in  the  heart,  before  he  attacked  those 
views  which  the  establishment  of  these  principles 
would  remove.  He  resolved  to  build  the  foundation 
before  he  reared  the  superstructure.  Those  men  of 
our  own  day,  who,  in  moral  enterprises,  begin,  as  we 
are  told  by  some  the  Egyptains  did  in  building  their 
pyramids,  at  the  top,  and  work  downwards,  may  learn 
a  good  lesson  from  this  plan.  We  admit,  a  few  of  the 
prominent  corruptions  of  the  Church  called  his  atten- 


THE    SIXTEENTH    CENTURY.  239 

m  lo  the  work  of  reform,  yet  it  was  a  long  while  be- 
fore he  attacked  the  vices  of  the  Church  in  right  good 
earnest.  He  opposed  Carolstadt  most  strenuously,  when 
he  began  to  destroy  the  images,  declaring  (hat  "  errors 
must  first  be  extirpated  from  men's  minds,  before  their 
signs  can  with  safety  be  removed."  He  also  opposed 
abolishing  some  of  the  ceremonies  of  the  Church,  not 
but  that  he  regarded  them  as  foolish  and  wrong,  hut 
he  knew  the  time  had  not  arrived  for  ihis.  He  knew 
men  would  think  and  reason  correctly  on  truth  in 
the  abstract,  even  when  they  would  become  preju- 
diced and  reject  it,  if  its  practical  reception  was  urged. 
He  also  knew  that  by  this  abstract  reasoning,  tiny 
might  be  committed  to  the  truth,  and  then,  when  he 
might  endeavor  to  remove  the  minor  evils,  they  would 
see  the  legitimacy  of  the  work,  and  be  ready  to  aid 
him.  Men  cannot  be  driven  and  forced  to  embrace 
truth  and  abandon  error.  It  will  not  do  to  attack  men 
so  bluntly,  and  denounce  them,  and  thus  exasperate 
them.  We  must  follow  Luther's  plan,  undermine 
their  foundation,  and  establish  truth  in  the  heart  first, 
and  then  they  will  turn  and  aid  us  in  destroying  the 
wrong.  It  takes  time  for  all  this.  No  reform  is  ac- 
complished in  a  day.  A  revolution  is  far  more  rapid 
than  a  reformation,  and  therefore  the  reformation  was 
far  more  rapid  than  it  would  have  been,  had  it  not 
been  for  its  revolutionary  character.  It  may  be  asked, 
shall  we  not  reprove  sin,  and  rebuke  it  wherever  found  1 
Most  assuredly,  when  you  can.  But  suppose  you  can- 
not, what  then?  What  avails  your  storming  and  ra- 
ving in  an  iron  cage  1  Suppose  here  is  a  whole  nation 
guilty  of  some  wrong — a  very  heinous  sin.  You  see 
and  feel  it  to  be  such,  but  this  whole  people  regard 
that  practice  right.  Now  you  may  lift  your  voice, 
11 


240  PHILOSOPHY    OF    REFORM. 

like  the  last  trumpet,  and  declare  that  practice  wrong", 
and  the  whole  nation  sinners,  yet  you  have  not  re- 
proved and  rebuked  them.  You  have  only  precluded 
the  possibility  of  its  ever  being  done  by  you.  Go  and 
instruct  that  people  in  the  principles  of  truth,  that  have 
a  bearing  on  this  practice,  and  they  will  see  their 
wrong  and  flee  from  it  with  astonishment.  There  never 
was  an  error  or  evil  permanently  removed  from  this 
world  in  any  other  way.    . 

We  have  now  said  all  that  we  have  room  to  say  on 
this  subject.  Much  more  might  be  written,  and  with 
profit  too,  but  we  trust  we  have  already  succeeded  in 
illustrating  our  subject.  We  have  cited  many  facts  in 
reference  to  the  progress  of  truth,  that  will  illustrate 
the  principle  and  laws  by  which  all  reforms  are  carried 
on.  We  think  we  have  made  it  evident  that  truth  is 
progressive — that  it  has  been  progressing  through  all 
past  time,  and  will  continue  until  its  final  triumph — 
that  its  progress  is  slow  only  in  appearance  to  us,  while 
it  is  as  rapid  as  possible  in  view  of  all  the  facts — that 
it  progresses  by  just  and  fixed  laws,  but  not  in  such  a 
way  as  to  detract  from  the  glory  of  God — that  not  un- 
frequently  the  evil  has  been  left  to  correct  itself,  rather 
left  to  increase  until  it  outraged  all  truth  previously  es- 
tablished, and  thus  to  produce  a  reaction  which  would 
destroy  it — and  that  systems  are  adopted  and  used  to 
secure  the  good  demanded  by  our  nature,  until  worn 
out  and  then  laid  aside. 

Thus  we  have  seen  the  world  moving  on  together, 
without  any  one  part  getting  far  in  advance  of  another. 
We  may  learn  many  a  good  lesson  from  these  interesting 
and  important  truths,  that  wTill  assist  in  devising  ways 
and  means  to  further  the  cause  of  truth  in  the  earth,  and 
in  prosecuting  our  various  reforms  in  the  world.     We 


THE    SIXTEENTH    CENTURY.  241 

have  too  long  been  accustomed  to  look  upon  the  past 
ages  as  full  of  folly  and  delusion,  and  ns  though  u  is. 
doni  and  knowledge  alone  dwelt  with  us.  So  those 
ages  thought,  and  so  may  those  who  come  tftef  ns  feel. 
Every  age  has  its  work  and  place,  and  no  one  mem- 
ber should  say  to  another,  why  art  thou  thus?  A  use- 
less age  has  never  yet  existed,  and  never  will ! 


CHAPTER    X. 


THE     CHURCH    THE    WORLD'S    REFORMER. 

The  Church  defined — The  law  of  progress  of  the  race — The  Church  and 
her  means  for  reforming  the  world— The  moral  power  of  the  Church — 
Christ's  design  in  reference  to  the  Church — The  Church  divorced  from 
her  appropriate  work — Voluntary  associations — Missionary  associations 
— Agents. 

We  have  already  learned  that  this  world  will  be 
thoroughly  reformed — that  is,  man  will  not  only  be 
regenerated,  but  as  a  physical,  social,  civil,  intellectual 
and  moral  being,  will  be  fully  and  perfectly  developed, 
and  occupy  the  position  in  the  scale  of  being  for  which 
he  was  designed  by  his  Maker. 

We  have  also  found  the  principle  that  lays  at  the 
foundation  of  this  reformation,  and  by  which  it  is  di- 
rected, together  with  its  embodiment  and  its  laws  of 
progress. 

We  now  need  something  to  put  the  system  in  mo- 
tion and  keep  it  in  operation.  However  perfect  the 
system  of  State  government  may  be,  however  wise  its 
rules  and  regulations,  it  will  fail  in  meeting  the  expec- 
tation of  its  founders  without  an  efficient  executive 
power. 

What  shall  secure  this  most  interesting  and  import- 
ant object  1  Not  only  the  Christian,  but  the  statesman, 
the  scholar,  and  men  of  every  class  and  character,  are 
interested  in  the  answer  of  this  question.    Everywhere, 


THE    CHURCH    THE    WOftLPS    KKloKMER.         343 

schemes  of  every  variety  of  character,  are  invented  to 
secure  it.  One  man  seeks  it  in  remodeling  society, 
another  imagines  he  has  found  1  universal  remedy  for 
all  the  ills  of  life,  in  a  single  department  of  moral  re- 
form ;  another,  still,  expects  with  the  triumph  of  his 
sect,  the  world  will  he  put  in  possession  of  its  entire 
inheritance.  They  are  all  confident  of  success.  They 
cry  up  their  several  plans  with  all  boldness  and  ener- 
gy. We  may  never,  therefore,  expect  them  to  be 
abandoned,  until  time  has  proved  them  false.  In  the 
mi  antune,  the  world  will  become  more  and  more  "  ill 
at  ease,"  as  one  and  another  of  these  systems  fails  of 
its  object,  and  will  demand  a  knowledge  of  the  true 
plan  with  more  and  more  earnestness,  and  with  less 
prejudice,  until  the  truth  is  fully  understood  and  re- 
ceived. Men  may  move  heaven  and  earth  in  behalf 
of  some  favorite  enterprise,  but  neither  nature  nor  her 
God  will  change  to  favor  them.  The  earth  will  pur- 
sue its  usual  course,  and  the  system  of  Heaven  will  be 
gradually  and  fully  developed,  in  spite  of  the  favorite 
schemes  and  ceaseless  complaints  of  the  world. 

In  all  undertakings,  the  system  or  plan  throughout 
must  be  of  the  same  nature  as  the  object  sought.  The 
farmer  will  employ  an  entirely  different  class  of  means 
to  secure  a  good  harvest  from  the  mechanic  to  build 
his  ship,  though  both  are  seeking  the  same  great  ob- 
ject, viz.,  wealth.  If  these  modern  schemes  for  hu- 
man improvement  were  tested  by  this  rule,  most  of 
them  would  be  found  wanting.  But  as  this  world  is 
to  be  reformed  by  the  principle  of  truth  as  embodied 
in  the  Cross,  we  conclude  that  the  Church  has  been 
organized  for  the  sole  purpose  of  being  the  channel 
through  which  this  principle  should  be  propagated. 

The  organization  of  the  Church  is  definite  and  dis- 


244  PHILOSOPHY    OF    REFORM. 

tinct,  and  its  duties  are  clearly  expressed  in  the  Bible, 
or  general  principles  are  given  from  which  they  may 
be  inferred,  under  every  supposable  circumstance.  In 
a  word,  the  great  design  of  the  Church  is  to  secure  the 
world  all  the  moral  good  that  man  is  ever  to  possess. 
This  is  its  legitimate  work,  and  in  no  other,  as  a  Church, 
has  it  any  right  to  engage.  This,  as  we  have  seen,  is 
at  the  foundation  of  every  other  good  work,  and  when 
it  is  done,  everything  else  desirable  will  also  be  accom- 
plished— that  is,  progress  in  literature,  in  science,  and 
the  arts,  will  follow  the  spread  of  Christianity.  It 
therefore  follows  that  we  have  no  right  to  abandon  the 
Church  for  any  other  organization,  to  secure  to  the 
world  those  blessings  which  have  been  promised 
through  the  Church  alone.  That  is,  voluntary  asso- 
ciations, organized  to  remove  a  moral  evil  and  secure 
moral  good,  are  absolutely  wrong,  and  cannot  be 
engaged  in  with  impunity.  We  trust  to  be  able  to 
make  this  position  more  clearly  evident,  in  our  farther 
remarks. 

The  Church  is  a  band  of  individuals — of  regenerated, 
truth-governed  men — called-out  men,  who  meet  toge- 
ther for  the  worship  of  God,  and  are  obedient  to  the 
laws  which  are  given  by  its  Head  for  its  regulation  and 
government. 

Inasmuch  as  we  hold  that  the  form  of  Church  go- 
vernment is  definite  and  distinct,  we  believe  that  the 
time  will  come,  when  all  other  forms  but  that  of  the 
Bible  will  be  abandoned,  and  that  adopted  everywhere. 
Still  we  regard  the  members  of  all  evangelical  sects  as 
good  Christians,  and  are  happy  to  admit  that  those 
whose  organizations  are  different  from  that  we  consi- 
der the  true  one,  are  doing  as  much,  for  the  time  being, 


THE    CHURCH    THE    WORLD'S    REFORMER.         246 

to  spread  Christianity  through  tl><%  world,  as  those 
whose  form  of  government  is  sanctioned  in  the  Word 
of  God. 

The  moral  system  adopted  at  the  last  crisis  of  the 
reformation  of  the  world,  is  such  as  to  admit  of  the 
existence  of  various  parties  in  the  church.  Those  that 
now  exist  were  formed  naturally  by  local  causes.  They 
all  hold  to  the  same  fundamental  or  vital  truths,  and 
are  engaged  in  propagating  them.  Therefore,  when 
we  say  the  Church  is  the  world's  reformer,  we  do  not 
wish  to  exclude  others  from  a  participation  in  the  glo- 
rious work  of  reforming  the  world,  nor  imply  that  they 
neither  have  nor  can  aid  in  this  work.  These  false  or- 
ganizations have  no  doubt  been  a  hindrance  to  the 
progress  of  truth,  but  still  we  hail  all  true  Christians 
as  brethren  of  the  same  household,  and  laborers  in  the 
rich  field  of  reformation.  We  do  not  suppose  the  Head 
of  the  Church  will  reject  them,  but  acknowledge  and 
bless  them  as  faithful  and  devoted  servants,  even  though 
they  do  not  labor  in  his  prescribed  way.  He  will  suf- 
fer and  overrule  the  error,  and  so  manage  as  to  bring 
us  in  the  end  to  see  "eye  to  eye."  Therefore,  al- 
though God  has  revealed  the  manner  in  which  we  should 
labor  to  accomplish  this  work,  yet  under  the  circum- 
stances, if  the  spirit  of  the  requirement  is  complied 
with,  he  appears  to  "  suffer  it  to  be  so  now."  And 
when  we  use  the  term  Church,  we  would  be  under- 
stood to  include  all  Christians,  of  whatever  sect,  for 
we  suppose  all  such  are  recognized  by  the  Head  of  the 
Church,  as  his  co-workers  in  the  world's  reformation. 

Before  entering  directly  upon  the  examination  of 
the  question  under  consideration,  we  wish  to  examine 
a  system  that  is  claimed  by  its  advocates  to  be  the  one 
by  which  the  world  is  to  be  reformed.     It  is  contended 


24G  PHILOSOPHY    OF    REFORM. 

by  many,  and  we  are  sure  the  number  is  much  larger 
than  is  generally  supposed,  that  there  is  that  in  human 
nature  which  naturally  tends  towards  perfection — that 
is,  that  there  is  a  law  of  progress,  by  which  the  race  is 
more  and  more  elevated  and  perfected,  just  as  the  oak 
attains  its  full  growth  from  the  acorn  by  an  unavoida- 
ble necessity. 

That  there  has  been  a  gradual  progress  of  the  race, 
we  think  we  have  fully  established ;  but  at  the  same 
time  we  have  shown  that  there  has  been  an  unseen 
hand — managing  and  guiding  all  things—which  has 
accomplished  it.  We  may  have  been  ignorant  of  this 
hidden  cause  hitherto,  yet  the  world  has  been  teeming 
on  with  its  millions,  gathering  up,  here  and  there, 
rich  thoughts  and  truths,  like  golden  sands,  and  adding 
them  to  her  former  store.  From  this,  we  have  come 
to  suppose,  that  there  is  something  inwrought  into  the 
very  heart  of  things,  by  which  this  progress  is  effected. 
This  idea  may  have  given  rise  to  the  crusade  that  is 
almost  everywhere  urged  against  antiquity,  old  mea- 
sures, old  doctrines  and  old  thoughts,  and  the  increased 
multiplication  of  new  schemes,  new  systems  and  new 
measures.  The  thought  itself  is  rather  beautiful  and 
grand,  the  progress  of  the  race!  It  is  great,  and  too 
good  to  be  untrue,  and  hence  it  has  been  adopted  by 
thousands,  and  urged  as  confidently  as  though  it  were 
true. 

It  is  urged  that  not  otherwise  can  the  wisdom  of 
God  be  vindicated.  If  the  object,  as  we  have  described 
it,  was  purposed  by  him,  it  is  supposed  he  must  also 
have  purposed  some  plan  to  secure  it,  which  would  be 
revealed  in  the  progress  of  events  ;  and  that  this  plan 
is  now  revealed,  and  declared  to  be  "  the  law  of  pro- 
gress of  the  race."     We  admit  that  God  purposed  the 


THE    UlUKi'II     I  UK    W«>KLD»S    REFORMER.         $47 

plan  when  he  purposed  the  objact,  and  t li.it  this  plan 
is  revealed  in  Ins  works  and  Word,  but  it  is  not  "  il»« 
I. in  of  progress  of  the  race,"  as  it  is  here  understood. 

Besides,  how  is  this  world  to  be  regarded  holy  when 
it  has  become  perfect,  if  the  race  do  progress,  as  is 
here  claimed  1  True,  it  will  then  be  a  perfect  world  ; 
so  that  oak-tree  is  perfect,  and  that  potter's  vessel,  after 
li.i\  ing  been  remodeled  a  score  of  times;  but,  in  this 
case,  is  it  a  holy  world  1  Is  everything  holy  that  is 
perfect?  You  cannot  predicate  holiness  of  any  but 
free,  moral  men  ;  but  here  is  the  world  governed  by  a 
law  that  cannot  be  violated,  moving  on  toward  per- 
fection, as  the  oak  grows  up  from  the  ground.  Tins 
theory,  therefore,  is  at  war  with  our  moral  being,  and 
should  it  succeed  in  perfecting  every  other  portion  of 
our  nature,  it  leaves  this  to  wither  and  die.  But  as 
the  moral  portion  of  our  being  is  the  conservative 
power  of  the  whole,  we  must  reject  this  scheme  as 
wholly  false. 

The  same  notion  is  also  defended  on  the  ground 
that  generations  never  die.  It  is  contended  that  they 
are  so  interlocked,  that  each  succeeding  one  receives, 
in  a  natural  order,  the  experience  and  knowledge  of 
the  preceding  one,  and  in  this  way  each  one  serves 
the  race,  as  a  lock  in  a  canal,  to  lift  it  up  to  a  higher 
level,  and  hence  we  may  expect  the  time  will  ulti- 
mately come,  when  a  generation  shall  succeed  in  gain- 
ing the  summit  of  perfection. 

The  fact  we  admit,  as  one  of  the  most  interesting 
and  cheering  we  can  contemplate.  Without  it,  we 
should  have  no  hope  of  the  least  improvement  of  the 
race.  We  do  enter  into  the  labors  of  our  fathers.  It 
is  also  true  that  the  world  has  been  preparing  to  give 
us  what  we  now  enjoy,  and  that  preparation  is  still 
11* 


248  PHILOSOPHY    OF    REFORM. 

going  on  for  obtaining  greater  blessings  for  genera- 
tions yet  unborn.  We  now  possess  and  enjoy  the 
wealth  of  past  generations — their  machines  and  inven- 
tions in  the  arts,  their  literature  and  science,  their  ex- 
perience in  social  and  civil  affairs,  and  all  their  facts, 
conclusions  and  systems.  They  serve  us,  if  not  as 
ships,  at  least  as  buoys  and  lighthouses,  in  making 
our  passage  upon  the  sea  of  time.  We,  too,  are  mak- 
ing improvements,  and  as  the  mind  of  man  expands, 
we  shall  continue  to  advance,  until  there  shall  be  a 
fraternal  alliance  m  all  truth.  And,  indeed,  we  have 
no  doubt  but  that  the  progress  is  almost  limitless — 
that  what  we  have  to  gain  will  be  as  superior  to  our 
present  possessions  as  these  are  to  those  of  the  most 
benighted  heathen.  The  fact,  then,  on  which  this 
theory  rests,  is  true.  But  wherefore  this  ?  If  occa- 
sioned by  the  law  of  progress  of  the  race,  have  we 
not  a  right  to  expect  the  same  progress  among  all 
people,  and  during  all  time  ?  At  least,  are  we  not  to 
look  for  this  when  there  is  no  physical  obstacle  to  for- 
bid it  ?  A  few  facts  will  put  this  matter  at  rest.  The 
native  tribes  of  this  country  had  been  in  peaceable 
possession  of  their  homes  from  a  time  of  which  their 
traditions  give  us  no  clear  account ;  yet  there  is  not 
one  particle  of  proof  of  their  ever  having  made  the 
least  progress  in  anything.  How  far  have  the  inhab- 
itants of  the  islands  of  the  Pacific,  or  of  Africa,  or  of 
Egypt — once  so  great —  or  of  Asia,  progressed  in  civi- 
lization 1  Has  there  been  the  least  progress  in  China, 
or  in  India,  for  the  last  thousand  years  ?  The  truth 
is,  they  have  progressed  downward,  rather  than  up- 
ward, during  this  period.  Account  for  these  facts  ye 
who  contend  for  the  law  of  progress  of  the  race  ! 
They  are  easily  accounted  for,  when  it  is  admitted 


THE    CHURCH    THE    WORLD'S    REFORMER.      249 

that  it  is  by  Christianity  al<>n<>  til  progress  is  made,  and 
111  do  other  way.  We  think  it  can  be  made  evident  that 
the  nlvance  of  civilization  has  been  like  a  river  flow- 
ing on,  and,  on  the  whole,  expanding;  that  there  has 
been  in  operation  a  system  to  develop  truth,  which 
has  caused  the  destruction  and  creation  of  nations,  and 
an  advance  in  political  science,  as  well  as  in  every 
other  department  of  life,  but  Christianity  has  been  the 
unseen  agent  that  has  accomplished  it.  This  is  the 
salt  that  has  preserved  the  world  from  putrefaction  and 
death— the  light  by  which  the  deep  and  dark  mines 
of  truth  are  lighted  that  would  otherwise  ever  have  re- 
mained buried,  and  their  rich  and  precious  gems  and 
pearls  been  to  the  world  as  though  they  were  not.  This 
is  the  spirit  by  which  the  dead  are  made  to  live — the 
soul  that  animates  every  system,  every  people,  who 
have  the  least  life  above  the  brute.  This  once  filled 
•  the  bosom  of  the  Catholic  Church,  and  then  she  pos- 
sessed life  and  motion,  but  it  has  deserted  the  polluted 
temple,  and  now  circulates  among  the  people  in  every 
portion  of  the  world,  reviving,  invigorating  and 
strengthening  the  otherwise  spiritless  and  soulless 
mass. 

To  the  Church,  then,  we  must  look  for  the  requisite 
aid  in  ttiis  great  work.  No  other  system  or  associa- 
tion possesses  the  means  to  arouse  man  from  that  state 
of  ignorance  and  vice  into  which  he  will  ever  sink, 
and  in  which  he  is  ever  found,  where  the  influence  of 
Christianity  is  not  felt.  There  is  no  other  light  of 
sufficient  brightness  to  scatter  the  darkness  that  en- 
shrouds the  world,  and  no  other  spirit  of  sufficient 
power  to  raise  the  dead  from  their  living  graves.  The 
world  has  obtained  vast  benefit  from  human  institu- 
tions, and  moral  and  civil  reformations,  and  revolu- 


250  PHILOSOPHY    OF    REFORM. 

tions,  and,  no  doubt,  may  feel  that  the  victory  has 
been  obtained  by  their  own  skill,  but  as  well  might 
the  individual  on  shipboard,  who  has  been  successful 
in  spying  a  distant. vessel,  while  all  on  board  were  in 
distress  and  ready  to  die,  boast  of  his  own  clear  eye- 
sight, and  forget  to  acknowledge  his  indebtedness  to 
the  sun.  Let  the  curtain  of  night  be  drawn  over  the 
heavens,  and  let  those  dark  storm-clouds  arise  heavy 
with  thunder,  and  let  the  sea  gather  madness  under 
the  lashings  of  the  tempest,  and  what  will  his  clear 
eyesightedness  avail  him  then  1  He  is  then  as  though 
struck  blind,  and  all  his  boasted  wisdom  vanishes. 
Suppose  the  student  is  able  to  descend  into  the  deep 
cavern,  and  pick  up  from  the  accumulated  rubbish  a 
few  rich  pearls,  is  he  not  indebted  to  the  light  of 
Christianity  for  them  1  Oh !  ye  men  of  borrowed 
plumes!  ye  moons  that  shine  with  borrowed  light! 
ye  egotistic  boasters !  go,  learn  humility,  and  ingenu- 
ously acknowledge  your  indebtedness  to  Christianity 
for  all  your  rich  treasures ! 

In  the  history  of  no  people  in  the  world  has  a  know- 
ledge of  any  truth,  not  immediately  growing  out  of 
moral  truth,  ever  taken  the  lead.  Truth,  in  respect 
to  all  things,  may  be  said  to  be  of  the  same  nature. 
Truth,  in  the  arts  and  sciences  is  the  law  by  which 
material  things  are  governed,  together  with  the  facts 
in  reference  to  them.  Truth,  in  civil  institutions  is 
the  application  of  the  principle  of  benevolence  to  the 
various  circumstances,  states  and  conditions  of  men 
and  society.  Therefore,  when  we  speak  of  truth,  we 
mean  a  chain  made  up  of  contiguous  parts ;  hence, 
we  have  political,  scientific  and  religious  truth.  Now, 
the  history  of  the  world,  and  that  of  any  people,  shows 
that  it  would  be  the  height  of  folly — indeed,  that  it 


Till-;    CHURCH    Tin;    WORLD'S    HEFORMER.       251 

would  be  impossible — to  take  a  rude,  barbarous  tribe, 
one  wholly  ignorant  of  any  truth,  if  such  a  case  w< 
possible,  and  edncMe  them  i>\  commencing  to  imtrucl 
tin  -in  in  the  arts  and  sciences.  As  well  might  we 
undertake  to  teach  the  blind  man  the  art  of  painting, 
or  a  dent  man  the  science  of  music.     Such  men  cannot 

think  or  reason,  except  about  their   i ediate  wants. 

They  may  be  able  to  supply  themselves  with  food,  if 
it  chances  to  grow  within  their  reach.  Men  are  natu- 
rally indolent  and  ignorant,  and  you  cannot  make 
them  feel  an  obligation  sufficiently  to  induce  them  to 
abandon  their  old  habits  for  new  ones— you  cannot 
make  them  surrender  their  bow  and  arrow  and  hol- 
lowed-loi;  boat  for  fire-arms  and  the  steamboat,  by 
abstract  reasoning — not,  indeed,  in  any  way,  if  they 
are  required  to  build  themselves  these  new  inventions. 
We  may  place  all  the  patent  machinery  in  the  world 
in  their  hands,  and  they  will  only  gaze  in  stupid  won- 
der. How  shall  we  arouse  their  dormant  energies? 
Is  there  no  way  yet  devised  1  and  must  they  sleep  on, 
and  be  left  to  die  the  second  death  1  Must  that  mind, 
created  for  high  and  holy  thoughts  and  aspirations, 
be  crushed  down  in  ignorance,  as  a  bright  summer's 
flower  1  Is  there  no  way  to  light  up  those  dark  re- 
cesses, and  explore  those  deep  caverns,  which  are 
filled  with  rich  treasures?  Yes,  truly  !  and  the  modus 
operandi  is  witnessed  in  the  history  of  every  people, 
as  they  come  up  from  a  barbarous  to  a  civilized  state. 
There  is  that  in  man  that  echoes  the  truth  of  Heaven, 
though  faintly  when  in  deep  ignorance  and  vice,  yet 
sufficiently  to  fasten  an  obligation  that  is  felt  to  listen 
and  obey.  In  this  state,  the  mind  cannot  be  made  to 
feel  the  force  of  any  other  truth.  Here,  then,  we 
have  a  hold  upon  the  inner  man,  firm  and  strong,  as 


252  PHILOSOPHY    OF    REFORM. 

with  no  other  thing  under  heaven.  We  may  now 
hope  to  arouse  him  from  his  sleep  of  ages,  and  break 
the  spell  that  has  bound  him  in  ignorance  all  his  life. 
When  once  he  is  thus  aroused  to  think  and  act,  his 
mind  begins  to  expand,  and  he  increases  in  know- 
ledge, and  the  higher  he  advances  the  greater  appear 
his  wants,  till  he  is  prepared  to  be  led  out  into  the 
beautiful  fields  of  literature  and  the  arts  and  sciences, 
and  to  receive  any  truth  we  may  wish  to  impart  to 
him.  Go  to  the  heathen  with  your  new  inventions, 
and  lecture  them  on  their  nature  and  use,  and  your 
efforts  are  all  lost — you  might  as  well  think  of  arous- 
ing their  dumb  idols  to  appreciate  your  work  and  pur- 
chase your  wares ;  but,  as  we  have  said,  there  is  a 
way  to  bring  these  dry  bones  to  life.  Breathe  into 
the  very  heart  of  this  mass  of  moral  and  intellectual 
death  the  vital  spark  of  Christianity,  and  it  lives. 
You  will  see  leaves  and  tender  shoots  putting  out  on 
every  side  at  once. 

Now  the  Church  was  organized  for  this  very  pur- 
pose. It  is  her  legitimate  work  to  breathe  the  breath 
of  life  into  the  world's  dead  carcase.  In  no  other  way 
can  this  good  work  be  done.  All  other  light  is  bor- 
rowed. Remove  this  central  sun,  and  every  proud 
reflector  would  cease  to  give  light.  It  may  be  said 
that  Christianity  is  the  only  active  principle  of  truth 
in  the  world.  Every  other  truth,  from  its  nature,  is 
quiescent,  lifeless,  until  picked  up  and  wrought  into  a 
system.  Christianity  is  the  internal  fire  that  is  con- 
stantly increasing  and  giving  life  to  all  things.  But 
even  that  would  soon  go  out,  were  it  not  for  this 
organization,  which  has  been  effected  to  propagate  it. 

There  is  no  other  system  or  association  that  is  pos- 
sessed of,  or  that  can  command,  sufficient  moral  power 


Till.    CHUmCH    THE    WORLD'S    REFORMER.        263 

to  ivlbrin  die  world.  Wo  think  it  is  evident,  from 
what  has  been  said,  that  tin-  cause  of  the  ignorai 
darkness  and  wickedness  of  the  WOfld  las  m  the  de- 
pravity of  the  heart.  This  is  the  seat  of  the  disease. 
This  corrupt  fountain  must  be  reached  and  purified, 
or  we  may  look  in  vain  for  development  in  any  de- 
partment of  truth.  Christianity  is  alone  able  to  effect 
this  desirable  object.  The  Church  is  tin*  only  organ- 
ization that  ever  professedly  labors  in  this  department 
of  reform.  A9men  "  love  darkness  rath'  i  than  light, " 
it  must  be  evident  that  it  will  require  no  small  power 
effectually  to  scatter  the  thick  darkness  in  which  the 
world  is  wrapped,  and  break  up  the  systems  of  iniquity 
and  death  which  are  everywhere  trusted  as  efficient 
barriers  against  the  inroads  of  truth. 

It  will  be  necessary  to  state  a  fact  or  two,  to  give  a 
full  and  clear  understanding  of  our  argument  for  the 
moral  power  of  the  Church. 

It  is  a  fact  of  which  we  are  all  conscious,  that  the 
moment  we  have  acquired  some  new  idea,  or  obtained 
a  new  thought  as  a  rich  gem,  that  moment  a  desire 
arises  in  our  minds  to  make  it  knowrn  to  the  world. 
We  feel  impelled  to  extend  the  good  to  others  which 
has  been  wrought  out  in  us.  This  feeling  is  like  fire 
shut  up  in  our  bones ;  it  is  impulsive,  and  we  cannot 
rest  until  it  is  communicated.  This  is  an  unalterable 
law  of  our  being.  The  richer,  the  more  choice  and 
important  the  truth,  the  more  desirous  we  are  to 
spread  it  abroad. 

Error  is  wn-truth,  and  always  productive  of  misery 
and  unhappiness.  Truth  is  the  opposite  of  error,  and 
when  adhered  to,  good  is  the  result.  It  cannot  be 
otherwise,  for  truth  is  the  great  reality  of  the  universe. 
Everything  that  God  has  made  is  perfectly  conformed 


254  PHILOSOPHY    OF    REFORM. 

to  it — every  machine,  either  moral,  or  physical — and 
when  they  move  in  obedience  to  its  laws  the  legiti- 
mate result  will  be  an  increase  of  good  to  the  world. 
Hence,  how  readily  the  reason  perceives  the  truth  in 
everything  that  is  brought  before  it.     How  naturally 
the  judgment  decides  in  favor  of  it,  or  what  it  supposes 
to  be  truth,  and  it  never  would  have  been   blinded 
had  man  never  fallen.     How  truly,  also,  conscience 
approves  and  condemns,  approbates  and  disapprobates. 
This  is  so  because  their  faculties  were  made  by  the 
God  of  truth,  and  in  all  the  murderous  and  destruc- 
tive work  of  the  enemy  of  truth  they  have  not  been 
wholly  perverted  and  destroyed.     Reason  recognizes 
truth  intuitively,  naturally.     She  detaches  and  col- 
lects  it  from    the   rubbish,  as  the   magnet  the   iron 
filings.     She  holds  it  up  in  the  mind — it  is  seen  and 
felt.     It  is  echoed  and  re-echoed  through  all  its  de- 
partments ;   in  every  deep  recess   and  in  every  dark 
cavern  its  vibrations  are  felt.     And  that  which  reason 
will  not  recognize  as  truth,  you  cannot  make  the  mind 
feel  it  is  under  any  obligation  to  choose.     We  admit 
that  everything  is  perverted  and  wrong,  and  that  is 
perceived  and  taken  for  truth  which  is  not  truth,  yet 
the  mind  is  true  to  its  own  laws,  and  will  not  act  but 
in  view  of  what  it  supposes  to  be  truth. 

It  is  a  difficult  task,  therefore,  when  the  truth  is 
clearly  and  definitely  stated,  to  resist  its  force.  Sup- 
pose you  state  a  single  truth,  that  about  which  we 
feel  interested — the  sound  strikes  the  ear,  the  sensa- 
tion is  instantly  carried  to  the  mind,  and  the  involun- 
tary feelings  are  awakened  and  propose  action.  The 
reason  at  once  perceives  it  and  rings  it  through  all  the 
mind,  the  judgment  affirms  it,  and  the  conscience 
stands  ready,  with   a  whip  of  scorpions  in  the  one 


THE    CHURCH    THE    WORLD'S    REFORMER.       266 

hand  to  sting  the  soul  if  a  wrong  choice  is  made,  and 
in  the  other  i  li<>  oil  of  gladness  to  pour  upon  the  spirit 

it  "truth  is  \  iclilrd  tO.       What  is    to  In*  dour  1      Not  UI1 - 

frequently,  we  admit,  the  mind  acquiesces  in  the  ab- 
stract prmt  lplos  of  truth,  ami  there  is  no  act  of  th<> 
m  ill  in  reference  to  it,  but  when  its  practical  reception 
is  urged,  it  is  either  gained,  or  a  clamorous  uproar  is 
produced  that  is  not  easily  borne. 

With  these  few  facts,  what  a  tremendous  power  tin 
man  of  truth  has  over  this  untruth  world.     There  is  a 
natural  adaptation  in  truth  to  influence  the  mind. 

We  wish  to  speak  of  the  Church  as  she  was  designed 
to  be,  as  she  is  to  some  extent,  and  as  she  will  be  one 
day.  We  have  the  right  to  look  at  the  Church  in  this 
light,  when  we  examine  the  plan  that  God  has  adopted 
to  reform  the  world.  We  have  the  right  to  examine 
Aw  pattern,  and  if  the  specimens  around  us  are  not  in 
all  respects  similar,  we  will  deplore  it,  and  pray  the 
time  to  be  hastened  when  in  all  things  they  shall  be 
strictly  conformed  to  it.  If  men  have  attempted  im- 
provements in  this  thing,  and  in  so  doing  marred  the  . 
beauty  of  Zion,  and  crippled  her  strength  and  influ- 
ence, it  is  not  to  be  charged  to  the  great  Head  of  the 
Church.  It  is  very  possible  the  Church  at  the  present 
day  may  need  to  be  reformed,  but  this  does  not  affect 
the  original  system. 

The  sin-hating  and  truth-loving  character  of  the 
Church  gives  it  great  moral  power.  Sin  is  die  viola- 
tion of  the  law.  The  laws  of  God  are  but  the  appl  ication 
of  the  great  principles  of  truth  to  our  several  states, 
conditions  and  circumstances  in  life.  Therefore,  sin 
is  the  violation  of  this  great  principle  of  truth.  Holi- 
ness is  the  opposite  of  sin.     It  is  right  moral  action. 


256  PHILOSOPHY    OF    REFORM. 

The  Church,  then,  is  designed  to  be  the  living  embo- 
diment of  the  truth,  a  practical  illustration  and  demon- 
stration of  it  and  its  action,  the  legitimate  result  of  the 
operation  of  the  principle  of  truth.  Truth  is  positive; 
hence,  it  is  that  which  is  of  right  demanded  of  all  men. 
The  Church  from  its  nature  will  demand  this.  The 
internal  man — the  reason,  the  judgment,  and  the  con- 
science— sanctions  this  demand,  and  asks  of  the  will 
corresponding  action.  There  is  force,  then,  great 
moral  power  in  a  holy  life,  that  we  do  not  see  how  it 
can  be  well  withstood.  It  is  that  which  takes  hold  on 
the  inner  man,  as  with  hooks  of  steel,  and  were  it  not 
for  the  deep  and  damning  depravity  of  the  human 
heart,  it  would  in  all  cases  subdue  the  man.  As  it  is, 
it  has  great  and  commanding  influence,  and  serves  to 
check  and  restrain,  if  not  conform  him  wholly  to  itself. 
The  Church  is  supposed  to  be  governed  by  the  whole 
truth.  We  speak  now  of  its  character  as  formed  from 
its  obedience  to  the  whole  truth,  in  opposition  to  that 
formed  by  one-ideaism.  It  stands  out  before  the  world 
in  proper  and  beautiful  proportions  and  symmetry. 
The  substratum  of  its  existence,  is  truth ;  and  the  su- 
perstructure is  built,  in  all  its  parts,  firmly  and  beauti- 
fully. It  is  truth  that  governs  the  Church  in  all  things. 
It  gets  not  hold  of  a  single  fact  to  the.  neglect  of  every 
other  truth.  It  is  not  particularly  careful  to  study  the 
applicability  of  the  great  principles  of  truth  to  a  single 
class  of  actions  to  the  neglect  of  every  other,  and  thus 
beget  what  we  call  one-ideaism,  but  it  studies  to  apply 
these  principles  to  every  action — to  all  her  life.  In- 
consistency and  inconstancy  do  not  exist,  then,  as  so 
many  leeches  upon  her  moral  power,  but  it  stands  out 
the  incarnation  of  truth,  the  rightful  and  authoritative 


THE    CHURCH    THE    WORLD'S    REFORMER.       ^57 

commander  of  the  world,  and  he  who  opposes  or  Audi 
fault  with  it  for  so  doing,  creates  a  mutiny  in  his  own 
vessel  that  is  not  so  comfortably  borne,  or  ensily  o\«  t 
come.  The  Church  may  challenge  the  world  to  find 
in  her  character  a  trait  that  may  be  called  "straining 
at  a  gnat  and  swallowing  a  camel."  Neither  does  she 
pay  tithes  of  "mint,  anise  and  cummin,"  while  she 
neglects  the  weightier  matters  of  the  law.  She  is  not 
all  anti-slavery  to-day,  or  some  other  modern  reform, 
to  the  neglect  of  any  other  equal  interest,  but  she  ex- 
hibits to  the  world  good  and  propel  proportions  in  all 
things.  This  gives  her  great  moral  power,  and  secures 
for  her  the  respect  and  admiration  of  all  beholders. 

Her  sober  discretion,  her  firmness  and  constancy,  also 
give  her  great  moral  power.  No  man  can  be  a  close 
and  careful  investigator  of  truth — no  man  can  lie  down 
amid  it — without  being  a  sober  man.  Truth  is  sober, 
so  is  a  truth-man.  He  too  will  be  careful  to  avoid  evil. 
Hence,  in  his  investigation,  and  in  all  his  conduct,  he 
will  be  a  cautious  man.  But  man  is  not  thus,  natu- 
rally, either  serious  or  cautious  in  moral  things.  The 
only  question  with  him  is,  "  will  this  or  that  course  be 
productive  of  the  greatest  benefit  to  me?"  So,  too,  in 
reference  to  moral  firmness  and  constancy:  in  this 
world,  where  errorism  of  every  kind  is  fashionable, 
where  men  are  prone  to  do  evil,  and  where  there  are 
ten  thousand  influences  to  draw  them  from  the  path  of 
rectitude,  it  is  somewhat  strange  to  see  a  man  stand 
up  amid  the  warring  elements,  firm  and  unyielding. 
He  is  not  propped  up  by  interest,  for  selfish  motives 
would  throw  him  into  a  different  position;  neither  is 
it  the  world,  for  that  too  would  overthrow  him.  It  is 
not  willfulness  nor  stubbornness,  for  it  is  not  so  easy  to 
resist  so  many  interests  and  opposing  influences,  where 


258  PHILOSOPHY    OF    REFORM. 

there  is  no  other  inducement  than  the  mere  gratifica- 
tion of  self-triumph.  But  it  is  truth  within  the  man 
that  holds  him.  He  is  conscious  of  its  possession, 
and  he  will  not  yield.  That  man  is  the  noblest 
work  of  God.  He  is  able  to  grapple  with  the  naked 
truth  of  things,  face  to  face,  and  heart  to  heart.  He 
is  none  of  your  smooth-shaven,  sickening  sentiment- 
alists, that  float  like  a  fairy  in  a  summer  breeze,  and 
faint  at  the  thought  of  noble,  rugged  action.  He  is  a 
strong  man,  one  of  the  strongest.  His  strength  con- 
sists in  his  being  able  to  carry  a  real  weight,  aye,  "  the 
heaviest  weight  without  staggering ;"  and  in  his  ability 
to  strike  a  sure,  heavy  and  solid  blow,  one  that  comes 
down  heavily  from  the  force  of  the  instrument  struck 
with,  though  raised  up  on  high  by  his  own  right  arm. 
Sudden  starts  are  not  strength.  Vehemence  is  not 
strength.  Loud  braying  and  boisterous  action  are  not 
strength.  This  strong  man  is  sober  and  silent,  looking 
into  the  very  heart  of  things,  till  the  time  comes  for 
speaking  and  acting,  and  then  every  word  tells.  A 
Church  with  such  a  character  will  possess  moral  power 
to  subdue  the  world. 

The  fact  that  in  the  Church  dwells  the  Holy  Spirit, 
must  convince  all  that  she  possesses  great  moral  force. 
The  promises,  "  Lo,  I  am  with  you  always,  even  unto 
the  end  of  the  world,"  and  "  the  Comforter,  which  is 
the  Holy  Ghost,  whom  the  Father  shall  send  in  my 
name,  he  shall  teach  you  all  things,  and  bring  all 
things  to  your  remembrance,  whatsoever  I  have  said 
unto  you,"  admit  us  at  once  to  the  very  source  from 
whence  the  Church  is  to  obtain  all  her  needed  power. 
If  Revelation  had  been  silent  on  this  point,  our  own 
experience  would  have  taught  us  the  fact  that  the 
Church,  with  all  her  moral  power  arising  from  her 


THE    CHURCH    THE    WORLD'S    REFORMER.       269 

)).iiIi;ii  nature,  would  never  have  been  able  to 
deem  a  single  soul.  The  tree  is  too  firmly  ro« 
to  be  torn  up  by  her  strength  alone.  The  man  is  too 
tii inly  wedded  to  his  idols,  to  be  made  to  abandon 
them  and  bow  in  submission  to  truth,  l>\  lie  mere  in- 
ducements she  can  hold  out,  or  by  the  reasons  she  can 
urge.  That  the  Church  may  be  thoroughly  furnished 
for  her  work,  the  Spirit  is  promised.  The  Spirit  is  able 
to  take  thetrnth  uttered  by  the  Church — that  exhibited 
everywhere  in  life — that  developed  by  Providence — 
gather  it,  indeed,  from  every  source,  and  bring  it  to 
bear  upon  the  mind,  as  in  one  focal  blaze.  But  this  is 
not  all.  He  is  able  to  give  a  right  direction  to  the 
moral  feelings,  quicken  and  strengthen  them ;  hush 
the  clamor  of  the  selfish  passions,  and  subdue  them ; 
electrify  the  whole  internal  moral  machinery,  put  it 
in  order,  and  thus  create  a  good  man  out  of  an  ex- 
ceedingly wicked  one.  There  is,  then,  omnipotent 
power  given  to  the  Church.  That  she  has  never  put 
forth  one-tenth  of  the  power  thus  imparted  is  too 
true ;  yet  it  is  in  her  possession,  and  when  she  shall 
become  filled  with  the  Spirit,  her  enemies  will  fall  before 
it,  and  her  career  will  be  one  of  unchecked  triumph. 

We  ask,  then,  in  view  of  these  facts,  is  not  the 
Church  possessed  of  power  adequate  to  the  work  as- 
signed her?  Does  any  one  presume  to  assert  that  this 
power  can  be  found  in  any  other  association  ? 

The  Church  is  the  salt  of  the  earth  and  the  light  of 
the  world.  We  have  only  to  refer  to  the  history  of 
those  countries  where  Christianity  has  never  entered, 
and  mark  their  ignorance, moral  degradation  and  death, 
for  proof  of  this  assertion.  This  is  a  dead  world,  with- 
out one  particle  of  vitality,  except  what  is  obtained 
through  the  Church.     Were  it  not  for  this  preserving 


260  PHILOSOPHY    OF    REFORM. 

and  life-giving  power,  it  would  soon  be  one  mass  of 
moral  putrefaction.  We  have  the  records  of  a  thousand 
trials  of  every  description  to  restore  it  to  life,  but  they 
are  known  only  as  splendid  failures. 

The  world,  also,  is  in  great  spiritual  darkness,  and 
would  have  been  in  great  intellectual  darkness,  had 
not  the  Church  to  a  great  extent  scattered  it,  and  lighted 
up  here  and  there  a  corner.  We  have  only  to  refer 
again  to  the  history  of  the  world  for  evidence  that  it 
is  in  ignorance  of  the  true  character  of  God,  of  the  true 
character  of  man  in  the  sight  of  God,  of  the  nature  of 
the  law,  and  of  sin  and  its  demerit,  except  where  the 
light  of  the  Church  has  shone.  In  reference  to  these 
and  all  fundamental  truths,  and  therefore,  of  truth  in 
everything,  to  a  great  extent,  where  the  light  of  Chris- 
tianity has  never  penetrated,  the  race  is  in  perfect  dark- 
ness. The  Church,  and  that  alone,  has  been  enlight- 
ened in  these  truths.  We  admit  other  men  to  be  good, 
intelligent  and  enlightened,  but  put  out  the  light  of 
the  Church,  and  their  light  too  would  go  out  at  once. 
There  is  no  life  in  them,  their  light  is  borrowed  and 
reflected.  From  the  earliest  history  of  the  world  God 
has  employed  those,  and  those  only,  whom  he  had  en- 
lightened, to  enlighten  the  world.  Gross  darkness  has 
covered  the  earth,  when  there  were  but  few  lights  upon 
it.  Thus  it  was  from  the  time  of  Noah  to  Christ ;  there 
were  but  a  few  lights  set  up  to  telegraph  the  truth 
down  to  generations  that  were  constantly  coming  upon 
the  earth.  Since  the  days  of  Christ  the  light  has 
been  clearer  and  brighter,  and  now  God  is  everywhere 
discovering  himself  to  the  world  through  the  medium 
of  his  people. 

Again  we  ask,  in  what  other  body  are  we  able  to 
find  the  means  requisite  to  the  thorough  reformation 


Till.  CHURCH   tin;   worlds  reformer,     gel 

of  mankind  but  ID  tbc  Church  I  As  we  have  won, 
tlie  work  of  reformation  must  begin  by  waking  Dp  the 
moral  powers  and  establishing  moral  principles  m  the 
heart.  Therefore,  (lie  means  to  accomplish  this  object 
must  be  moral  means.  Various  have  been  the  eflbtti 
to  reform  our  race,  but  they  have  all  signally  failed, 
or  are  failing.  It  would  be  interesting  to  trace  out 
each  prominent  movement  of  the  kind  that  has  been 
made  from  the  earliest  time  till  now.  We  might  thus 
loam  their  relative  strength  and  the  cause  of  their 
failure,  and  be  benefited  by  the  experience  and  mis- 
haps of  others.  We  should  no  doubt  find  it  true  thai 
there  was  not  the  requisite  means  at  command.  The 
Church,  and  the  Church  alone,  as  we  have  seen,  pos- 
sesses the  seed  of  truth — the  only  seed  that  will  germi- 
nate in  the  cold,  hard  soil  of  this  world ;  and  she  is 
the  only  efficient  organization  to  scatter  it.  She  has 
her  sanctuary,  her  ministry,  her  ordinances,  and  the 
instituted  means  of  grace,  which  are  all  simple  and 
effective.  What  more  efficient  means  for  planting  the 
truth  than  the  ministry?  Here  are  men  dedicated  to 
the  work — men  called  of  God  and  ordained  for  this 
very  purpose.  These  men,  simple,  grave,  sincere, 
and  of  an  honest  and  devoted  heart,  without  pomp 
and  parade,  are  everywhere  scattering  the  seed  of 
truth,  and  exhibiting  in  their  daily  life  the  principles 
of  truth.  What  better  plan  than  this  to  secure  the 
end  desired  1  The  Church  is  of  the  same  character. 
She  is  the  principle  of  truth  alive.  She  is  to  put  the 
world  in  possession  of  the  true  idea  of  religion,  by  ex- 
hibiting its  nature  in  her  daily  life.  God  is  with  her 
and  with  her  ministry  as  they  go  out  into  every  dark 
corner  of  the  earth.  His  promise  is  sure  and  never- 
failing.     This  office  will  ever  exist  in  the  Church. 


262  PHILOSOPHY    OF    REFORM. 

It  may  be  disgraced  and  brought  into  contempt  by 
unholy  men,  yet  the  sons  of  Levi  shall  be  purified, 
and  the  time  come  when  their  full  worth  and  influence 
will  be  felt  and  acknowledged. 

It  would  be  interesting  to  trace  the  influence  of  this 
class  of  men  in  the  world.  However  little  of  the  true 
spirit  of  their  Master  they  may,  at  times,  have  pos- 
sessed, still  God  has  ever  honored  the  office ;  and  he 
has  manifested  this,  if  in  no  other  way,  by  chastising 
those  who  had  entered  it  with  unclean  hands.  It  is 
an  undeniable  fact,  that  to  the  ministry,  either  directly 
or  indirectly,  can  be  traced,  to  a  very  great  extent,  all 
the  knowledge  we  ever  have  possessed  on  any  subject. 
True,  there  have  been  men,  not  ministers  of  Christ, 
of  the  first  order  of  talent,  who  have  gone  down  to 
their  graves  honored  by  a  grateful  world — men  who 
contributed  not  a  little  to  the  common  stock  of  know- 
ledge ;  yet  it  might  be  interesting  to  know  how  much 
they  were  indebted  to  the  "light  of  the  world"  for 
their  knowledge.  A  talented  scoffer  vilifying  the 
Church,  is  like  the  viper  poisoning  the  bosom  that 
warmed  it. 

Every  institution  of  the  Church  is  just  that  which  in 
itself  is  calculated  to  reveal  and  enforce  the  truth. 
Every  doctrine,  ordinance  and  institution  that  tends 
to  draw  the  mind  from  the  truth,  is  not  of  God.  The 
Church,  then,  though  poor  in  this  world's  goods,  and 
made  up  of  those  who  have  but  little  influence  in  its 
affairs,  as  when  first  organized,  still  possesses  the  means 
for  efficient  action.  She  can  send  out  the  living  teacher, 
and  the  strength  of  Omnipotence  is  pledged  to  sustain 
him.  She  is  led  on  by  her  own  Captain,  under  Heav- 
en's own  colors,  to  conquer  and  triumph  everywhere. 

But  aside  from  all  our  arguments  already  presented, 


Till:    CIIlTvCH    THE    WORLDS    REFORMER.       263 

the  Choral)  was  designed  to  be  the  only  reformatory 

institution  in  tho  world. 

1 1  remembered  that  the  kingdom  or  Church  of 
Christ  was  to  be  u  set  up  n  at  a  sp«vihYd  lime,  wliirh 
is  fulfilled;  that  it  was  to  exist  forever  and  fill  the 
whole  world,  which  was  "  to  be  given  to  the  people 
of  the  saints  of  the  Most  High."  This  kingdom 
has  been  given  to  the  saints  already,  and  they  are 
< -oimuanded  to  go  up  and  possess  it.  Why,  it  may 
be  asked,  this  delay  1  This  is  a  moral  world,  and  its 
reformation  is  effected  by  moral  means.  Providence 
will  do  no  violence  to  our  free  agency  in  effecting  his 
designs.  Why  should  he  set  aside  fixed  laws  to  secure 
his  purpose,  when  there  is  no  necessity  for  it  ?  Om- 
nipotence is  pledged  to  aid  and  bless  the  Church  in 
doing  her  own  work — to  give  her  victory  when  she 
shall  go  up  to  battle  in  his  name.  She  is  slow  and 
timid  in  her  movements,  we  admit ;  but  mountain- 
weights  of  responsibility  are  pressing  upon  her  bosom, 
and  she  will  move,  she  does  advance,  somewhat. 
Besides,  Christ's  people  were  to  labor  in  his  vineyard 
till  he  should  come,  scattering  broadcast  the  seed  of 
truth.  He  left  us  no  intimation  of  any  other  plan  of 
securing  his  harvest,  but  it  is  said  that  previous  to  his 
second  coming,  it  shall  be  proclaimed  through  the 
earth  and  heavens,  that  the  kingdoms  of  this  world 
have  become  the  kingdoms  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ ; 
and  we  have  no  evidence  of  any  other  means  to  make 
them  such  but  his  Church. 

If  the  Church  was  not  designed  to  reform  the  world, 
and  if  it  was  not  organized  for  that  purpose,  how  is  it 
that  no  portion  of  the  world  has  ever  been  enlightened 
but  through  its  instrumentality  ? 

i  h*  Church  also  is  the  purchase  of  Christ's  blood. 
12 


264  PHILOSOPHY   OF   REFORM. 

She  is  engraven  upon  his  hands,  and  dearer  to  him 
than  the  apple  of  his  eye.  Why  should  he  not,  there- 
fore, honor  his  people  in  permitting  them  to  co-operate 
with  him  in  his  great  work  of  redeeming  the  world  % 
He  will  do  so,  and  never  abandon  his  Church  for  any 
other  organization  for  this  purpose.  However  long 
the  work  may  be  delayed  by  a  single  church,  or  all 
churches,  becoming  corrupt,  God  will  employ  no  other 
means  or  people  in  the  great,  reformation  he  has  de- 
signed. 

It  is  true,  then,  that  the  Church  is  the  only  reform- 
atory association  he  has  established,  and  that  he  will 
recognize  it  as  such.  Therefore  other  organizations, 
whose  object  is  to  secure  the  same  results,  will  not 
only  fail,  but  prove  greatly  injurious  to  the  one  Heaven 
has  appointed.  It  amounts  to  divorcing  the  Church 
from  her  appropriate  work,  which  must  end  in  disap- 
pointment and  chaos. 

Indeed,  this  is  the  state  of  the  Church  at  the  present 
day.  She  is  cramped  down  into  neutrality,  or  en- 
gaged in  a  heartless  routine  of  unmeaning  ceremonies. 
She  has  almost  become  shorn  of  her  strength.  Sling 
up  your  arm  for  years,  and  thus  forbid  its  performing 
its  appropriate  work,  and  it  soon  becomes  withered, 
weak  and  useless.  The  mind  without  exercise — an 
unoccupied  mind — soon  grows  a  weak  and  unthinking, 
and,  as  it  were,  a  dead  mind.  Look  upon  this  great 
world,  wretched  and  ruined,  the  noble  and  generous 
impulses  of  its  heart  all  paralyzed  !  Wherefore  this  ? 
The  reason  is  too  obvious.  It  never  has  been  engaged 
in  its  appropriate  work.  Its  strength  has  never  been 
called  out.  There  is  heroism  and  greatness  in  this 
world  :  it  will  be  exhibited  one  day.  Not  unlike  this 
result  will  be  the  effect  upon  the  Church  by  divorcing 


THE    CHURCH    THE    WORLD'S    REFO._ 

her  from  her  appropriate  work.     She  may  ho1&4&  to 
an  organization,  l>wt  \wr  heart,  bet  life  will  be  gone. 

When  members  of  the  Church  enter  into  other  as- 
sociations to  secure  the  very  good  the  Church  was  de- 
signed to  obtain,  it  is  evident  the  Church  receives  no 
honor  or  strength  when  good  is  gained.  Here,  then, 
is  a  constant  drain  upon  her  moral  power.  A  single 
fact  will  illustrate  our  meaning.  A  certain  class  of 
men  have,  for  the  last  few  years,  been  contending  that 
the  Temperance  Society  was  got  up  and  organized  ley 
those  who  were  not  members  of  the  Church.  No 
doubt  this  society  was  started  and  has  been  mainly 
sustained  by  Christian  men,  but  how  natural  to  con- 
clude differently  when  we  see,  on  every  hand,  mem- 
bersof  the  Church,  as  outstanding  aloof  from  this  work. 
They  may  engage  in  this  enterprise  as  Temperance 
men,  but  they  have  not  as  members  of  Christ's  Church. 
This  is  equally  true  in  respect  to  every  other  modern 
reformatory  effort.  Hence,  we  think,  were  a  strict 
examination  made,  it  would  be  found  that  the  cause 
of  the  existence  and  growth  of  the  u  Come-outer8,,, 
as  they  are  called,  of  the  present  day,  is  the  fact  that 
the  Church  has  been  divorced  from  her  appropriate 
work.  The  truth  is — and  the  result  is  natural — she 
has  been  brought  into  almost  universal  contempt. 
Why  should  the  world  have  great  confidence  in  her, 
when  her  own  members  have  so  little  that  they  dare 
not  trust  her  in  an  emergency,  but  abandon  her  at 
once,  and  organize  separate  associations  to  secure  a 
good  she  had  not  power  herself  to  accomplish  ? 

However  good  or  evil  the  principles  of  these  several 
associations  may  be,  we  are  not  here  to  inquire,  but 
one  thing  is  evident,  their  natural  tendency  is  to  one- 
ideaism,  and  this  generates  in  turn,  a  harsh,  censori- 


266  PHILOSOPHY    OF    REFORM. 

ous  and  denunciatory  spirit,  which  is  the  cause  of  end- 
less quarrels,  and  division,  and  mischief  to  the  Church. 

We  may  not  be  aware  of  it,  yet  it  is  too  true,  and 
we  may  feel  it  one  day  with  a  vengeance,  that  every 
effort  and  movement  of  Christian  men  engaging  in 
moral  enterprises  aside  from  the  Church,  is  an  aban- 
donment of  the  Church,  and  a  practical  declaration  of 
our  want  of  confidence  in  her.  No  words  that  we  can 
speak  or  write  can  declare  this  fact  plainer  or  fuller. 
We  see  and  feel  the  result  already,  in  the  moral  hub- 
bub and  Babel  jargon  that  is  increasing  all  around  us. 
But  the  fruit  is  not  yet  half  gathered.  We  may  have 
done  it  unwittingly,  yet  we  have  pierced  the  Saviour's 
bosom,  injured  him  in  the  house  of  his  friends,  and 
marred  the  beauty  of  Zion.  Zion  weeps,  her  walls  are 
broken  down,  and  her  own  friends  have  caused  it. 
Not  intentionally  perhaps,  but  we  have  been  most 
shamefully  deceived.  We  have  been  taught  that  the 
end  sanctifies  the  means — that  if  our  object  was  good, 
it  mattered  nothing  what  means  were  employed  to 
gain  it,  provided  they  have  the  semblance  of  appro- 
priateness. We  have  believed  this  teaching  and  acted 
accordingly,  and  in  this  way  brought  evil  upon  Zion. 

If  God  has  chosen  and  ordained  the  Church  to  re- 
form the  world,  he  will  not  abandon  her  for  any  mod- 
ern effort,  and  for  us  to  do  it  is  to  call  in  question  his 
wisdom.  Here  is  the  argument.  God  loved  the  world 
though  fallen  and  ruined.  He  purposed  its  reforma- 
tion. He  devised  and  executed  a  plan  to  accomplish 
it.  He  has  revealed  to  us  this  plan.  It  is  by  propa- 
gating the  principle  of  truth  that  is  embodied  in  the 
Cross,  through  the  instrumentality  of  the  Church. 
Now,  then,  he  who  abandons  the  Church  for  any  other 
reformatory  body,  by  so  doing,  charges  God  with   the 


THE    rilUKCH    HIE    WORLD'S    REFORMER.        QffJ 

want  of  wisdom  ami  goodness.  However  unim- 
tional  this  may  be,  the  impression  is  made  upon  die 
minds  of  those  over  whom  we  have  an  influence. 
What  folly,  then,  if  not  heaven-daring  impiety,  to 
substitute  any  modern  association  for  the  Church. 
Not  only  are  all  such  voluntary  associations  useless, 
but  it  is  wicked  to  entire  in  them. 

1 1  may  be  urged  that  the  Church  will  not  act.  She 
will  act.  She  is  the  Church  of  Christ ;  therefore,  she 
must  and  will  act.  Many  a  good  man  in  the  Chun  li 
who  loves  the  principles  of  truth,  is  refraining  from 
all  action  whatever,  because  he  sees  that  modern  re- 
form efforts  are  wrong,  and  of  course  will  signally 
fail.  These  men  will  act,  if  you  will  engage  them  m 
the  proper  way,  and  upon  the  proper  work.  Press  the 
doctrine  of  this  chapter  upon  the  heart  of  the  Church 
and  ministry,  make  the  impression  deep  and  indelible, 
urge  the  responsibility  arising  from  it  upon  the  heart, 
and  they  will  act.  This  doctrine  has  been  overlooked 
and  almost  forgotten.  Therefore,  many  in  tl 
of  the  world  have  got  in  advance  of  the  Church, 
and,  in  very  truth,  in  advance  of  Heaven  itself,  and 
are  now  turning  round  and  denouncing  and  abusing 
their  brethren  because  they  keep  not  up  with  them  in 
their  reforms.  They  say  they  are  in  advance  of  the 
age.  Indeed,  they  are  in  folly,  fanaticism,  and  mad- 
ness— in  that  road  which  leads  to  destruction ! 

This  state  of  things,  which  is  the  natural  result  of 
abandoning  the  Church  as  described,  is  producing 
fanaticism  in  almost  every  variety  of  form.  It  must 
and  will  increase.  There  are  impurities  in  the  system 
that  must  be  purged  out.  This  work  is  progressing 
rapidly.     With  our  present  knowledge,  we  might  have 


268  PHILOSOPHY    OF    REFORM. 

known  years  ago  that  Millerism  would  be  the  fruit  of 
the  seed  sown.  It  is  the  fruit  of  impatience  and  un- 
belief. Men  become  impatient  of  the  world's  regene- 
ration. The  peculiar  efforts  introduced  produced  a 
restless  spirit.  Men  began  to  feel  that  the  work  moved 
too  slowly.  They  lost  all  patience  and  control.  They 
became  wild,  and  invented  a  patent  machine  to  save 
time  and  labor.  It  is  an  infringement  upon  Heaven's 
plan,  but  what  of  that,  in  this  age  of  new  things? 
Thus  the  Church  is  purged. 

Mormonism  serves  the  Church,  as  Moab  did  Israel, 
as  a  wash-pot.  It  is  the  omnium  gatherum  of  the 
Church.  It  is  the  compost  heap,  into  which  the  im- 
purities of  the  system  are  collected,  which  are  thrown 
off  while  it  is  going  through  the  process  of  purifica- 
tion. 

Fourierism  is  but  a  patent  reformatory  association — 
an  attempted  improvement  on  the  gospel.  It  is  the 
gospel  of  the  law  of  progress  of  the  race.  It  may 
have  an  angel's  appearance,  but  it  has  a  Tiger's  heart. 
The  Church  being  retarded  in  her  work  by  the  divorce 
referred  to,  these  men  have  declared  the  gospel  to  be 
a  failure.  Hence,  they  have  got  up  an  association  to 
gain  for  the  world  what  God  has  sought  but  could  not 
gain.  Poor  men !  they  will  have  their  day  and  die. 
Thus  we  might  account  for  all  the  modern  isms  which 
have  taken  the  place  of  the  Church,  and  also  for  the 
existing  and  increasing  fanaticism. 

Therefore  we  should  remember,  whatever  be  the 
reform,  or  the  particular  department  of  reform,  in 
which  we  would  engage,  that  God  has  designed  it  shall 
be  prosecuted  by  the  Church.  He  has  afforded  her 
every  facility,  and  placed  every  necessary  means  with- 


THE    CHURCH    THE    WORLD'S    REFORMER. 

m  li.r  reach  to  accomplish  every  good  work.     Tlim 
fore  we  may  take  courage  in  aiding  in  the  world's 
reformation. 

It  is  needless  to  detail  the  manner  in  which  eref] 
effort  for  the  extension  of  truth  >hould  be  conducted, 
for  all  this  may  be  inferred  from  the  general  princi- 
pies  we  have  already  established. 

But  for  the  purpose  of  more  fully  illustrating  our 
views,  we  will  specify  the  manner  in  which  we  sup- 
pose missionary  efforts  should  be  conducted.  No 
doubt  such  societies  have  existed  from  the  primitive 
Church,  and  will  till  the  world  becomes  Christianized. 
But  they  have  no  right  to  exist  and  be  conducted  in 
such  a  way  as  to  free  the  Church  from  her  responsi- 
bility in  the  matter.  It  is  the  Church  that  must  send 
out  and  support  missionaries,  and  not  American 
Boards.  Not  only  in  name  must  the  society  be  an 
agent  of  die  Church,  but  it  must  be  so  in  fact,  prac- 
tically. This  system  of  missionary  operations,  with 
officers  and  agents  that  take  the  whole  work  into  their 
own  hands,  thereby  effectually  freeing  the  Church  of 
all  responsibility,  save  when  an  agent  comes  along,  is 
wrong,  and  cannot  long  live.  An  agency  system  for 
collecting  funds  must  work  injury  from  its  very  na- 
ture, and  the  day  is  not  distant  when  it  will  be  aban- 
doned. If  there  is  not  principle  enough  in  the  Church 
to  give  all  that  is  needed  to  carry  on  the  work  without 
agents,  there  is  not  prayer  enough  to  cause  the  money 
collected  to  do  any  good. 

We  have  now  before  us  the  true  plan  for  the  re- 
formation of  the  world.  We  have  seen  it  work  by 
reference  to  the  history  of  the  race.  Advance  has 
been  made  in  the  progress  of  truth.  Its  roots  have 
struck  deep  and  fastened  themselves  firmly  in  the 


270  PHILOSOPHY    OF    REFORM. 

heart  of  the  world.  The  tree  will  yet  overspread  the 
whole  land,  and  its  leaves  be  for  the  healing  of  the 
nations.  Suppose  you  could  stand  on  some  removed 
point,  where  angels  stand,  and  watch  the  progress  of 
truth?  What  a  sublime  scene  !  truth,  simple,  naked 
truth,  by  a  regular,  fixed  and  sure  process,  triumphing 
over  error  and  wrong.  Angels  are  not  discouraged, 
why  should  the  Church  be  cast  down  ?  They  wait 
and  trust  Heaven's  plan,  without  dreaming  of  an  at- 
tempt to  invent  an  improvement,  why  should  not  the 
Church  on  earth  follow  the  example  ? 

How  cheering,  to  the  faithful  co-laborer,  the  fact 
that  the  day  will  come  when  God's  designs  in  the 
earth  will  be  accomplished.  He  will  then,  from  the 
hills  of  heaven,  look  back  and  see  that  everything 
was  wisely  done,  that  every  movement  was  the  pro- 
duct of  infinite  wisdom  and  goodness,  and  that  the 
progress  of  the  reformation  was  as  rapid  as  it  could 
be  made.  God's  plans  are  so  deep-laid,  and  far  from 
us,  that  their  movements  in  a  whole  century  appear 
stationary,  though  they  pass  with  the  speed  of  light. 
In  fact,  when  we  take  into  account  all  that  has  to  be 
contended  with,  the  work  to  be  done,  and  the  ad- 
vancement already  made,  it  will  be  surprising  that 
the  progress  has  been  so  rapid. 


CHAPTER   XI 


THE  PRESENT  STATE  OF  THE  WORLD'S  REFORMATION. 

The  freedom  of  the  mind— The  investigation  of  fundamental  principles— 
The  shrinking  from  responsibility— The  present  state  of  the  Church— 
The  contest  between  candor  and  bigotry,  honesty  and  dishonesty,  sin- 
cerity and  Jesuitical  trickery. 

Where  are  we  ?  This  is  an  important  and  inter- 
esting inquiry  in  this  bewildered  age  of  the  world. 
As  moral,  social,  civil  and  intellectual  beings,  what 
is  our  latitude  and  longitude?  How  far,  as  a  world, 
have  we  progressed  in  the  journey  at  whose  termina- 
tion stands  the  temple  of  Truth  ?  How  far  in  advance 
of  former  ages  are  we  1  It  is  high  time  we  examined 
our  position,  and  learned  definitely  in  what  part  of  the 
sea  of  time  we  are.  There  are  shoals  and  reefs,  sand- 
bars and  maelstroms,  where  other  people  of  other  ages 
have  been  wrecked,  and  where  we  may  be  destroyed. 
Shall  we,  then,  throw  away  our  chart  and  compass, 
and  hail  with  joy  the  darkness  that  hides  the  stars, 
forbidding  the  possibility  of  our  taking  our  observa- 
tions, or,  like  good  seamen,  hasten  to  learn  our  situa- 
tion ;  and  keep  our  reckoning  well,  until  we  are  able 
to  make  the  port  of  Truth  securely  1 

Though  the  ship  Civilization  has  often  been  cap- 
sized and  stranded,  she  has  as  often  been  righted  and 
got  under  way  again  ;  we  may,  therefore,  hope  and 
12» 


272  PHILOSOPHY    OF    REFORM. 

firmly  trust  she  will  ride  out  every  storm,  and  bring 
into  port  a  large,  rich  freight,  even  though  many  may 
be  washed  overboard  and  destroyed  during  her  heavy 
plungings  and  strugglings  with  the  warring  elements. 
"  Watchman,  what  of  the  night  V9  This  was  an 
often  repeated  and  deeply  interesting  inquiry  among 
those  of  ancient  time,  and,  indeed,  among  the  wise  of 
every  time.  Our  own  supposed  superior  wisdom,  or, 
perhaps,  our  ignorance,  may  destroy  its  importance  in 
our  own  minds.  The  night  is  as  the  day,  the  moon- 
light as  the  sunlight,  to  the  blind  man.  The  song  of 
the  summer  bird  and  the  roar  of  Niagara,  the  faintest 
whisper  and  the  voice  of  thunder,  are  regarded  alike 
by  the  deaf  man,  simply  because  he  regards  neither  at 
all.  A  dream  to  the  dreamer  is  a  reality,  all  its  scenes 
are  real,  and  it  stirs  real  feelings  within  him.  Thus 
it  is  in  the  moral  world — there  are  blind  men,  deaf 
men  and  dreamers.  We  should  rejoice,  could  we 
efface  from  our  minds  the  conviction  that,  to  an  alarm- 
ing extent,  the  whole  moral  world  is  blind,  deaf  and 
dreaming.  Be  this  as  it  may,  no  doubt,  were  we  to 
examine  the  world's  course  for  a  few  centuries,  or  for 
all  time — were  we  to  stand  on  an  eminence,  from  which 
we  could  view  at  a  glance  its  circuitous,  crooked  and 
winding  path,  we  should  unconsciously  say:  u  Those 
of  old  were  blind  sailors ;  how  deaf,  too,  they  must 
have  been  to  the  directions  of  the  captain ;  truly,  they 
must  have  been  a  dreaming  crew ;  why  did  they  not 
shun  this  danger  and  these  rocks  ?"  It  is  far  easier, 
while  witnessing  the  plungings  of  a  ship  from  the 
shore,  to  give  directions  to  the  bystanders  how  it 
should  work,  than  to  walk  the  deck  and  manage  it 
ourselves.  It  should  be  enough  for  us  to  know  where 
we  are,  and  manage  our  own  ship  aright,  learning, 


STATE    OF    THE    WORLD'S    REFORMATION.        273 

if  perchance  we  may,  wisdom  from  other's  fail nn-s 
ami  mishaps.  This  is  far  better  than  to  suspect  we 
air  right  when  we  know  all  others  to  have  been 
wrong.  We  do  well  to  find  our  work,  and  do  it  as 
fOQd  as  the  Ih'sI  ! 

1 1  is  a  pleasing  and  cheering  thought,  that,  in  every 
plunge  of  the  ship,  in  every  breeze  that  fills  her  sails, 
in  all  la  1  winding  way,  and  in  all  her  mishaps,  there 
is  tun h—sona-  iruih  in  every  movement,  that  may  be 
treasured  up.  Each  age  has  mapped  down  upon  the 
page  of  history  its  surveys,  and  soundings,  and  jour- 
neyings,  its  enterprises,  its  loss  and  gain,  and,  in  its 
last  will  and  testament,  bequeathed  to  us  its  experi- 
ence, on  every  leaf  of  which  is  written,  "  improve." 
It  is  true,  we  have  been  brought  Jo  our  present  situa- 
tion, and  we  shall  gain  our  destined  port,  by  a  truth- 
process — by  the  violation  of  no  law,  though  it  be  by 
the  operation  of  principles  of  truth  thrown  into  a  dis- 
cordant, motley  shape.  The  path,  then,  we  may 
hope  to  straighten,  by  correcting  old  surveys,  and  im- 
proving upon  the  works  of  our  fathers. 

The  crookedness  of  the  world's  journey,  or  that  of 
the  Church,  has  been  caused  by  running  out  of  the 
right  path,  while  the  forces  that  have  acted  upon  it 
have  been  unequal  and  badly  proportioned.  Blind 
fate  has  never  led  this  world,  neither  has  it  run  on 
haphazard  until  it  has  become  so  much  entangled  and 
so  nearly  chaos  that  its  steps  can  never  be  retraced. 
Our  steps  must  be  retraced,  we  must  come  back  to  the 
point  of  digression,  and  then  guard  against  wrong- 
doing and  journeying.  Therefore  there  is  chance  for 
instruction  from  the  broken  walls  of  other  men,  which 
we  shall  do  well  to  heed.  These  walls  fell  down  in 
perfect  conformity  to  good  laws.     There  were  laws  to 


274  PHILOSOPHY    OF    REFORM. 

which  had  there  been  a  strict  adherence  in  the  build- 
ing, they  would  have  been  good  walls  yet.  We  may 
imagine  we  can  pile  up  stones  any  way,  and  the  fabric 
will  stand ;  but  our  opinion  will  not  alter  the  nature 
of  things.  We  may  make  a  good  beginning,  by  pla- 
cing the  largest  stone  at  the  bottom  of  the  wall,  and 
still  disregard  every  other  law,  and  so  build  that  old 
Nature  will  throw  it  down  soon. 

In  the  moral,  as  in  the  natural  world,  stones  must 
be  laid  on  stones  aright,  or  the  whole  will  topple  and 
fall.  The  moral  and  intellectual  architecture  of  former 
times,  together  with  their  plans  and  material  for  build- 
ing, are  very  well  exhibited  to  us.  Let  us,  therefore, 
be  careful,  while  we  guard  against  their  errors,  not  to 
run  into  others  equally  false. 

But  our  question,  Where  are  we  1  from  whence  does 
this  age  hail  1  is  still  unanswered.  We  hasten  to  an 
examination  of  this  topic. 

In  no  age  of  the  world  has  mental  freedom  been  so 
general  and  perfect  as  in  the  present ;  but  in  all  time, 
and  in  all  parts  of  the  world,  men  have  been  free  to 
think,  or  else  retributive  justice  wTas  dealt  out  at  once 
to  him  who  would  attempt  to  legislate  to  the  contrary. 
It  may  be  true,  however,  that  men  are  thrown  into 
such  circumstances  as  to  be  compelled,  as  it  were,  to 
think  over  other  men's  thoughts,  or  when  they  are  all 
stereotype  thinkers.  But  man  will  think,  and  freely 
too,  in  spite  of  all  opposition  and  legislation.  Press 
the  world's  weight  upon  him,  pile  up  mountain  upon 
mountain  to  keep  him  where  he  shall  be  a  thinkless 
man,  and  you  his  thinker,  you  have  only  delayed  his 
action  for  a  day ;  for  think  he  will,  and  for  himself 
too! 

We  have  examples  of  this  on  our  chart,  in  the  record 


STATE    OF    THE    W0RLD»8    REFORMATK  >N.        275 

of  the  world '8  experience.  The  Pope  thought  to  be 
able  to  be  the  uimersal  thinker!  He  was  all-contid.  nt 
of  his  success.  He  did,  indeed,  succeed  well  for  a 
while — as  long  as  he  could  keep  men  thrust  in  the 
(In  k  caverns  of  ignorance,  where  they  lived  sight  h >«, 
speechless  and  deaf.  Tins  man  had  counted  without 
his  host.  He  took  advantage  of  the  world's  peculiar 
situation,  and  thought  for  all  men  while  they  were 
making  preparation  to  throw  off  such  authority  and 
think  for  themselves.  The  people  might  not  have 
been  conscious  of  this  fact ;  yet,  as  true  as  the  needle 
will  direct  to  the  polo  and  settle,  so  surely  will  the 
mind  seek  to  think  for  itself,  and,  in  time,  succeed. 

What  a  good  lesson,  for  such  men  as  the  Pope  and 
the  world  in  general,  is  taught  in  the  French  explo- 
sion, sometimes  called  the  French  revolution.  This 
was,  in  fact,  but  the  bursting  out  of  repressed  thought 
and  mental  action — the  expanding  mind  breaking  its 
fetters,  and  striking  for  freedom — a  mental  insurrection 
that  gave  or  sought  no  quarter.  Better,  by  far,  had  it 
been  for  those  who  attempted  this  imprisonment  of  the 
human  mind,  had  they  endeavored  to  fill  up  and  cover 
over  Etna  or  Vesuvius,  or  any  other  of  the  breathing 
holes  of  the  great  fire- world,  and  build  fine  villas  there, 
and  live  there,  until  the  destruction  that  would  be  in- 
evitable overtook  them.  The  explosion  of  a  thousand 
worlds  would  not  be  so  loud  and  lasting,  as  that  of  the 
expanded  mind  of  a  single  people  even,  walled  in  and 
pressed  down  by  physical  force.  It  required  a  tremen- 
dous effort  for  France  to  burst  her  shackles,  and  in  her 
mighty  throes  and  soul-travail,  when  she  did  succeed, 
she  swung  far  beyond  the  truth,  even  to  the  other  ex- 
treme. That  lever,  with  all  its  appurtenances,  was  so 
nicely  wrought  and  planed  that,  when  all  her  strength 


276  PHILOSOPHY    OF    REFORM. 

was  exerted  to  upturn  the  already  toppling  edifice,  it 
came  down  with  a  crash,  and  killed  its  thousands.  They 
had  made  no  arrangement  for  that.  What  general,  con- 
fident of  the  strength  of  his  cannon,  ever  made  prepara- 
tion for  its  bursting.  The  French  have  not  regained  the 
right  position  or  standing  yet,  and  as  a  French  people, 
it  is  somewhat  doubtful  whether  they  ever  will. 

Now,  while  we  mourn  over  the  vastly  great  evils 
that  have  been  the  product  of  this  mental  earthquake, 
we  must  acknowledge  it  to  be  a  right  natural  one  after 
all.  And  had  the  French  mind  been  kept  within  pro- 
per restrictions  and  bounds — had  the  nation  been  bet- 
ter prepared  for  the  outbreak — had  her  people  been 
educated — had  virtue  and  piety  been  predominant — it 
would  have  been  one  of  the  most  brilliant  and  lastingly 
beneficial  enterprises  that  this  world  has  ever  witnessed. 
Their  strange  and  ultra  notions  in  religion  are  owing 
to  their  having  obtained  that  mental  freedom  which  had 
been  robbed  from  them  for  years,  on  a  sudden,  ere 
they  knew  how  to  prize  and  treat  it.  They  have  al- 
ready been  much  modified  and  improved,  so  that  now 
their  system  contains  much  truth,  and  may  be  said  to 
be  a  reformed  scheme  of  error.  On  the  whole,  how- 
ever, we  say  that  the  French  revolution,  with  all  its  evil, 
and  fruit  of  evil  yet  to  be  gathered,  has  done  the  world 
good.  It  has  awakened  thought  and  free  inquiry,  as 
scarcely  no  other  single  work  ever  has  done. 
.  There  is  power,  and  greatness,  and  dignity  in  man, 
if  we  can  only  get  at  it.  The  history  of  this  French 
war  proves  this.  It  is  proved,  also,  in  our  own  history, 
in  our  railroads,  steamboats,  our  extensive  and  well- 
perfected  machinery  for  manufacturing.  Indeed,  this 
age  trumpets  this  truth  world-wide,  in  its  advanced 
state  in  literature,  the  arts  and  sciences ;  in  its  bold  and 


STATE    OF    THE    WORLD'S    REFORMATION.       277 

daring,  self-sacrificing  and  useful  enterprises.  We 
•nly  to  awaken  tins  power,  not  create  it,  for  it 
-,  and  ever  has,  as  does  strength  in  a  slumbering 
lion. 

Those  Puritans,  too,  were  a  noble  race  of  mm. 
They  li.nl  strength  to  resist  their  government,  even 
though  the  royal  prerogative  was  carried  to  its  utm<»t 
limits,  and  all  its  power  and  authority  exerted  to  con- 
term  them  to  the  established  religion.  They  dared 
<|m  stion  its  authority,  and  cast  it  aside  and  think  for 
themselves  in  religious,  and,  in  fact,  in  all  other  mat- 
ters. It  could  not,  and  did  not,  extinguish  the  spirit 
of  the  Puritans,  any  more  than  it  could  destroy  tin  n 
nature.  Neither  was  its  effect  destroyed ;  for  it  is  true, 
as  recorded  by  Hume,  that  the  precious  spark  of  liberty 
was  kindled  by  die  Puritans,  and  preserved  by  them, 
and  it  is  to  them  the  English  owe  the  whole  freedom 
of  their  constitution.  Those  fierce  persecutions  during 
the  reigns  of  Elizabeth  and  the  Stuarts  were  designed 
to  exterminate  them,  but  they  only  had  the  effect  to 
scatter  Puritan  principles  to  the  winds,  on  which  they 
were  borne  into  every  clime.  They  were  driven  out 
from  that  land  to  find  shelter  on  Plymouth  rock.  Here 
they  built  their  fires,  and  around  their  hearthstones 
they  gathered  their  little  ones,  and  called  it  Home! 
Here  they  worshiped  God — their  father's  God — and 
trained  up  their  children  to  fear  him. 

Here  is  recorded  the  decision  of  human  nature  and 
the  human  mind  in  letters  of  fire  and  blood,  that  "  the 
mind  shall  be  free."  Men  are  born  into  the  world  des- 
pots, and  our  history  is  but  the  record  of  the  mind's 
imprisonment,  and  its  struggles  to  be  free. 

These  Puritans  soon  ran  into  wild  extravagances 
and  inconsistencies,  and  in  their  turn,  were  unwilling 


278  PHILOSOPHY    OF    REFORM. 

that  men  should  think  differently  from  what  they  re- 
garded right.  In  all  these  and  similar  cases,  we 
have  instances  of  mental  freedom  run  mad.  This  is 
far  better  than  mental  slavery,  yet  it  is  productive  of 
vast  and  incalculable  evils.  It  is  far  better  to  have 
an  edged  tool  tempered  up  too  high,  than  not  tempered 
at  all,  for  in  the  former  case  there  is  hope  of  tempering 
it  down  to  the  right  degree. 

Neither  do  we  call  the  stereotype  thinker  a  free 
thinker.  He  thinks,  to  be  sure ;  who  does  not?  but  he 
thinks  over  other  men's  thoughts — he  is  a  channel 
thinker;  his  thoughts  run  in  the  same  channel  with  those 
of  his  fathers.  This,  at  least,  is  erring  on  the  safe  side. 
It  would  be  a  sacrilege  to  such  men  to  think  deeper  and 
more  correctly  than  their  predecessors.  Their  path, 
too,  is  chosen,  not  because  they  have  made  it — not  even 
because  it  is  the  true  one — but  because  their  fathers 
thought  so,  and  traveled  in  it.  Such  a  man's  mind  is 
like  a  castor  trundled  about  to  receive  the  contributions 
of  the  charitable — it  is  crowded  with  other  men's  ideas, 
not  its  own  thoughts.  Some  men,  indeed  a  vast  many, 
court  this  kind  of  thinking  for  the  people,  because  it  is 
the  safer  course.  It  is  safe,  as  truly  as  is  a  dead  calm 
in  the  midst  of  the  ocean.  There  is  no  fear  of  the  cap- 
sizing of  the  vessel,  to  be  sure,  neither  is  there  hope  of 
making  headway  in  sailing.  The  safer  course  !  Yes, 
indeed,  just  as  safe  as  is  the  lulling  of  the  wind  in  a 
gale,  which  is  its  resting  to  gain  new  strength  and 
power  for  the  next  blast.  Whether  our  fathers  were 
right  or  wrong,  those  who  adopt  their  course  and  their 
thoughts,  without  making  them  their  own,  are  prepar- 
ing themselves  to  be  the  dupes  of  tyrants,  as  soon  as 
their  minds  become  a  little  more  weak  and  unthinking. 

We  are  happy  that  this  nightmare  spell  of  the  world 


STATE    OF    THE    WORLD'S    REFORMATION.       279 

has  been  broken,  and  now  the  mass  begin  to  think  for 
themselves.  \\Y  admit  then  is  dangei  <>t  ruiinmi;  info  a 
licentious  mode  of  thinking,  but  we  hope  to  be  able  to 
show  thai  there  is  a  sufficient  foundation  laid  to  sustain 
the  superstructure.  We  must  not  forget,  however,  that 
when  every  theory,  ism,  project  and  enterprise  is 
undergoing  the  fiery  ordeal  through  which  it  must 
pass — when  men  think  and  investigate  for  themselves 
— gas,  and  steam  too,  a  vast  amount  of  it,  will  be  ge- 
nerated, as  in  the  French  revolution,  and  it  may  hurst 
the  machinery  as  it  did  then ;  but  we  think  we  can 
show  that  this  cannot  be,  for  the  times  are  guarded 
with  safety-valves  in  sufficient  number  to  prevent  it. 
Yet,  as  we  have  said,  steam  will  be  generated  and  es- 
cape, and  many  may  secure  it,  and  make  it  work  out 
no-go vernmentism,  Fourierism,  Mormonism  and  Mil- 
1<  iiMn.  All  such  work  is  natural,  at  least.  But  this 
does  not  argue  against  mental  freedom.  A  small, 
narrow  mind  that,  that  would  destroy  steamboats  and 
railroads  because  the  pipes  of  boats  and  locomotive  en- 
gines emit  smoke  and  sparks  that  are  somewhat  annoy- 
ing and  dangerous.  These  incidental  evils  are  evils, 
we  admit,  but  they  are  vastly  overbalanced  by  the 
good  that  is  gained. 

Perhaps,  there  have  been  times  when  individuals 
were  as  free  to  think  and  investigate,  and  when  they 
did  get  down  as  deeply  into  truth  as  those  of  the  pres- 
ent day.  To  deny  this  would  be  acknowledging  our 
ignorance  of  the  history  of  Luther,  and  Calvin,  and 
Knox,  and  Wesley,  and  Edwards.  But  even  these 
men  thought  not  only  for  themselves,  but  for  all  others 
of  their  times,  and  for  a  vast  many  of  our  own  time. 
It  is  well  they  should,  so  far  as  they  could,  think 
right ;  but  this  does  not  make  it  wise  for  us  to  adopt 


280  PHILOSOPHY    OF    REFORM. 

their  views  and  opinions,  or  those  of  any  other  men, 
without  thought  or  investigation.  The  parrot  can  do 
all  that ! 

Our  time  is  unlike  this  time.  All  men  think  now  ! 
They  think  and  read  for  themselves.  The  Hottentots 
and  the  serfs  of  Russia  think  :  so  far  as  they  have  any 
influence  in  the  affairs  of  the  world,  they  think  and 
reason.  And  besides,  all  those  nations  of  the  earth 
that  take  the  lead  in  its  concerns  and  enstamp  it  with 
a  character,  are  filled  with  a  ready  people.  This  is 
true  of  our  own  nation.  True,  we  read,  just  as  we  do 
everything  else,  in  a  hurry — as  it  were  by  steam  or 
electricity.  In  fact,  what  is  thrust  into  our  eyes  to  be 
read,  is  trashy,  vapid  matter,  not  solid.  Germany  is 
filled  with  books.  Her  literati  are  all  book-makers. 
These  hard  students  are  constantly  mining  for  truth. 
Their  precious  metals  are  not  well  refined ;  they  need 
to  be  freed  of  their  mysticism,  yet  the  light  of  science 
would  burn  dimly  were  it  not  for  these  men  who  toil 
the  live-long  night  over  their  great  labors.  France, 
too,  and  England  are  filled  with  u  written  reason," 
while  other  nations  are  waking  up  and  asking  food 
for  their  starving  minds.  Even  the  unenlightened 
nations  of  the  world  begin  to  think ;  and  already  thou- 
sands have  thought,  what  has  for  a  long  time  been 
true,  that  their  idols  are  no  gods  and  cannot  be  of 
service  to  them  in  an  effort  for  personal  development. 

Some  men  attempt  to  laugh  at  and  ridicule  the 
book-making,  periodical  and  newspaper  spirit  of  the 
age.  They  imagine  they  see  evil  here.  Some  men 
never  see  anything  else  anywhere,  and  they  are  ever- 
lastingly croaking  about  that.  We  admit  that  evils 
may  grow  out  of  it ;  so,  too,  evils  may  be  incidental 
to  everything.     Evils  have  grown  out  of  the  creation 


STATE    OF    THE    WORLD'S    REFORMATION.       281 

at  the  world,  hut  they  ore  not  to  be  charged  to  its 
Maker;  neither  would  we  say,  for  this  reason,  it 
would  have  been  better  had  the  world  not  been  cre- 
ated. If  we  could  enumerate  no  positive  blessings 
this  spirit  will  confer,  there  are  negative  blessings  in 
abundance.  These  books  and  papers  arc  t  he  t  rt  uscript 
<>!  i he  popular  mind.  They  may  serve  us  as  the  food 
of  an  ancient  animal  does  the  comparative  anatomist, 
to  judge  of  its  nature.  It  is  evident  the  world  begins 
io  have  a  desire  for  intellectual  food  it  never  felt  be- 
fore. But,  like  a  child,  it  is  apparently  unable  to  di- 
gest solid  and  substantial  matter,  though  the  system 
may  demand  it.  Now  nature  is  true  to  herself; 
therefore,  the  food  that  is  adapted  to  the  present  state 
of  our  systems  will  be  sought  for  and  obtained.  Tins 
supply  is  obtained  in  the  shiploads  of  light  literature 
that  is  flooding  the  whole  country,  and  hawked  about 
our  streets  continually.  The  public  appetite  will  soon 
be  surfeited  and  the  body  sickened,  until  from  the 
huge  mass  of  society  shall  be  thrown  up  this  poison- 
ous substance,  and  the  system  purged  and  purified. 
In  the  process  of  purification  many  may  be  destroyed, 
but  shall  we  quench  the  spirit  through  fear  of  a  few 
incidental  evils  1  Better,  by  far,  be  preparing  for  the 
coming  victory,  and  rejoice  that  this  spirit  of  reading, 
thinking  and  investigating,  has  increased  so  far  and  is 
still  spreading. 

It  is  difficult,  at  the  present  day,  to  palm  off  a  theory 
or  doctrine  by  any  array  of  great  names,  or  by  decla- 
mation, though  it  be  loud  and  long.  And  the  forcing 
men  to  think  as  the  tyrant  thinks  has  long  ago  been 
abandoned.  Men,  and  the  people  at  large,  must  have 
the  reason  for  a  thing,  its  why  and  wherefore,  before 
they  are  satisfied.    There  are  exceptions,  to  be  sure,  but 


282  PHILOSOPHY    OF    REFORM. 

the  treatment  which  a  credulous,  phantom-following 
and  easily  humbugged  spirit,  everywhere  meets  with  is 
proof  of  our  position.  This  class  is  composed  of  the 
impurities  of  the  system,  which  always  work  out  and 
arise  upon  the  surface  when  society  is  agitated. 

The  French  Revolution,  as  we  have  seen,  contri- 
buted to  this  state  of  things,  and  our  own  popular 
form  of  government  has  probably  done  more  to  give 
enlarged  and  liberal  freedom  to  the  human  mind  than 
any  other  one  thing.  Each  man  is  here  a  sovereign. 
He  is  supposed  to  think  and  act  for  himself ;  at  least, 
the  nature  of  our  institutions  has  a  tendency  to  pro- 
duce this,  and,  indeed,  this  is  its  effect.  The  mind, 
when  once  untrammeled  and  enlightened,  be  it  in  re- 
ligion or  politics,  or  in  reference  to  a  single  theory  of 
either,  will  never  rest  till  it  has  investigated  all  truth, 
unless  its  conservative  principle  be  removed.  Estab- 
lish a  right  principle  in  the  mind,  we  care  not  if  it  be 
in  reference  to  plowing  the  field,  and  though  the 
mind  may  be  dark  on  every  other  subject,  that  dark- 
ness must  drive  out  that  light,  or  the  light  must  scat- 
ter the  darkness  ;  and,  on  the  supposition  that  no  cor- 
rect principle  on  any  subject  could  be  planted  in  the 
mind  until  the  moral  powers  were  first  awakened,  the 
light  of  that  principle  will,  in  time,  banish  all  error, 
and  bring  the  whole  man  up  to  his  destined  elevation. 

Thus,  America,  as  a  bright  light,  has  chased  away 
the  darkness  that  has  shrouded  many  other  portions  of 
the  world.  Her  influence  is  felt  in  waking  up  a  de- 
sire to  think  and  investigate  for  ourselves,  in  every 
part  of  the  world.  Tyrants  are  insecure,  and  they 
feel  it,  for  men  must  be  free,  and  they  know  it. 

Another  characteristic  of  the  times  is,  a  disposition 
to  investigate  fundamental  principles,  and  the  clear- 


STATE    OF    THE    WORLD'S    REFORMATION.       283 

ness  with  which,  as  abstract  principles,  they  are  per- 
<  <  lvcd.  The  world  has  given  birth  to  several  ages, 
sucli  iis  the  Roman,  the  Grecian,  and  the  middle  ages, 
but  the  present  may  very  properly  be  called  the  philo- 
sophical age  of  the  world.  Men  are  anxious  to  know 
the  reason  for  whatever  is  asserted.  Facts,  also,  are 
sought  for  with  avidity,  for  the  purpose  of  learning 
ilu  ime  principles  of  things.  It  is  well  when  a  peo- 
ple will  be  satisfied  with  nothing  but  facts.  Then  is 
a  harmony  in  all  facts — a  family  likeness,  and  a 
manifest  regularity  and  system  in  their  coming  and 
departing,  that  will  invariably  aid  us  in  discovering 
their  source.  Therefore,  so  far  as  we  become  a  matter 
of  fact  world,  men  are  striving  to  get  down  to  first 
principles,  and  there  build  on  firm  and  enduring 
foundations. 

Thus  it  is  that  our  pulpits,  to  a  very  great  extent,  have 
become  the  theatres  of  philosophical  discussion.  The 
various  doctrines  of  the  Bible,  and  the  usual  topics  of  a 
kindred  nature,  are  examined  in  a  philosophical  manner. 
It  appears  to  be  the  object  of  the  preacher  to  carry  the 
reason  of  his  hearers  by  strong  logical,  philosophical 
argument.  It  may  be,  to  some  extent,  that  the  au- 
thority of  reason  is  substituted  for  that  of  the  Scriptures. 
This  argues.both  well  and  ill.  It  is  a  presage  of  good, 
inasmuch  as  it  indicates  our  belief  in  the  great  power 
of  truth,  and,  also,  that  the  popular  mind  has  been  so 
much  cnliulitened  from  this  source  that  it  can  perceive 
the  truth  and  feel  its  power;  but  it  is  an  ill  omen,  in- 
asmuch as,  for  the  time  being  at  least,  the  authority 
of  God  is  set  aside.  The  danger  is  of  casting  off,  im- 
perceptibly and  gradually,  this  authority,  until  it  shall 
cease  to  be  felt  altogether ;  and  then  our  reason  would 
soon  become  darkened  and  lead  us  into  every  imagin- 


284  PHILOSOPHY    OF    REFORM. 

able  error  and  extravagance.  It  also  tends  to  the 
production  of  a  religion  of  the  intellect,  in  which  the 
heart  has  no  concern.  Truth  may  be  demonstrated 
as  clear  as  the  sun — it  may  be  written  down  upon  the 
skies  even — and,  if  it  comes  with  only  its  own  inherent 
authority,  men  may  assent  to  it  intellectually,  but  no 
farther.  The  heart  can  never  be  gained  otherwise 
than  by  an  exhibition  of  the  character  of  God  as  it  is 
revealed  in  his  Son.  You  may  gain  the  assent  of  the 
will  by  clear,  cold  reason,  but  not  the  will  itself.  There 
is  danger  of  the  efforts  of  our  pulpits  becoming  clear, 
but  dead,  philosophical  investigations,  and  our  system 
of  religion  left  with  a  majestic  and  noble  form,  but 
inefficient  and  lifeless. 

The  same  is  also  true  in  the  political  and  scientific 
world.  People  appear  to  be  waking  up  to  an  inquiry 
into  the  wherefore  of  their  governments.  Monarchs 
and  tyrants,  and,  indeed,  all  governments,  are  watched 
with  a  jealous  eye.  Men  begin  to  feel  themselves 
capable  of  self-government,  and  in  every  new  inves- 
tigation they  are  learning  the  illegitimacy  of  force  in 
conducting  civil  institutions.  Therefore  all  govern- 
ments whose  entire  guaranty  for  protecting  their  sub- 
jects and  whose  whole  influence  over  them  are  derived 
from  physical  force,  are  marked  for  destruction.  The 
people  have  ordered  an  examination  of  the  foundation, 
and  it  will  be  found  slender  and  decaying ;  and  hence 
we  may  expect  them  to  be  seized  with  fear  of  the 
whole  building's  tumbling  upon  them,  and  in  despair 
desert  it,  or  pull  down  and  remodel  the  superstructure 
themselves,  and  deal  out  vengeance  to  the  tyrant. 
Intelligence  and  tyranny,  though  in  never  so  small 
doses,  cannot  mingle  together  contentedly.  At  every 
attempt  you  may  hear  the  low  groaning  and  threat- 


p  STATE    OF    THE    WORLD'S    REFORMATION.       285 

ening  that  are  the  presage  of  an  approaching  MUftl 
qtM&e.     You  cannot  BlBOthei  the  \olcano,  for  tin 
has  been  applied  to  the  magazine,  and  there  must  be 
vent  somewhere,  even  if  Luther  reformations  and 
French  revolutions  are  the  result. 

Who  has  not  witnessed  with  admiration  the  extmt 
to  winch  scientific  research  has  been  carried  in  our 
own  time  1  We  have  scarcely  a  schoolboy,  but  that 
is  farther  advanced  in  scientific  knowledge  than  were 
our  fathers  fifty  years  ago.  The  component  parts  of 
the  earth,  air  and  sea  have  been  traced  out,  and  the 
simple  elements  of  all  things  arranged  and  classified. 
Tin-  cause  of  this  and  the  reason  of  that  have  been  thor- 
oughly investigated,  and  there  is  scarcely  an  exist i  -n re- 
but what  has  been  laid  under  contribution  to  promote 
the  comfort  and  happiness  of  men. 

What  is  the  cause  of  all  this?  Probably  general 
intelligence  has  contributed  more  than  any  one  thine: 
to  produce  it.  An  educated  mind  is,  naturally,  a  phi- 
losophical mind.  A  thinking  mind  will  investigate 
whatever  may  come  under  its  observation.  Such  a 
mind  is  as  restless  as  the  wind.  It  is  its  nature  to  soar 
higher,  and  expand  its  wings  wider  and  broader,  and 
to  throw  its  piercing  sight  down  deeper  and  still  deep- 
er. It  is  ever  in  motion,  as  was  the  dove  that  left  the 
ark  before  the  waters  had  subsided,  until  a  firm  foun- 
dation is  obtained.  When  this  foundation  is  gained, 
it  is  then,  in  that  direction,  settled ;  still,  into  every 
other  unknown  and  unexplored  region  it  will  wing  its 
way  unceasingly.  What  glory  and  honor  is  due  the 
Maker  of  our  minds — the  Creator  of  our  thinking  spir- 
its, whoso  nature  it  is  to  soar  up  towards  the  Great  In- 
finite. 

The  lesson  the  present  age  has  learned  from   the 


286  PHILOSOPHY    OF    REFORM. 

mishaps  and  failures  of  former  times  has  contributed 
also  to  the  same  result.  Mens'  sayings  and  doings, 
the  habits,  plans,  and  measures  of  former  days  are  now 
having  their  resurrection.  The  whole  world  has  been 
summoned,  by  representation,  to  a  post-mortem  ex- 
amination of  the  exhumed  thoughts  and  ideas  of  our 
fathers.  So  far  it  has  been  strict  and  impartial,  and 
there  is  every  reason  to  believe  it  will  be  thorough. 
Men  feel  the  need  of  pronouncing  sentence  according 
to  facts ,  for  the  universal  cry  has  been,  u  wherefore 
the  instability  of  former  and  the  present  times'?"  The 
cause  of  others'  shipwreck  must  be  ascertained.  We 
do  not  say  this  has  been  perfectly  revealed,  but  the 
present  examination  will  do  it.  The  facts  are  seen  if 
not  their  cause  ;  and  they  have  revealed  a  dreadful 
disease  raging  all  over  the  world.  How  shall  we 
avoid  its  dreadful  influence  1  is  the  general  inquiry. 
We  have  begun  to  investigate  and  learn  the  remedy. 
And,  as  is  perfectly  natural  in  such  a  state  of  things, 
many  superficial  examiners,  in  their  great  zeal,  sup- 
pose they  have  obtained  the  universal  catholicon,  and 
are  running  in  every  direction  crying,  "  Lo,  here  is 
truth,  lo,  there  it  is  !" 

The  broken-up  state  of  all  things  has  contributed  to 
the  same.  All  our  old  forms  and  habits,  institutions, 
systems  and  models  of  thinking  and  acting,  are  under- 
going an  important  revolution.  These  old  paths  are 
broken  up  and  the  elements  are  in  terrible  agitation. 
Men  are  grasping  at  this  or  that  for  safety,  and  begin- 
ning to  examine  in  earnest  for  firm  ground  on  which 
to  plant  themselves  lastingly. 

In  short,  there  is  not  a  department  in  science, 
morals  or  politics,  in  which  men  are  not  digging 
down  to  its  foundation,  and  examining  its  strength  and 


STATE    OF    THi  MATION.       £8T 

ability  to  sustain  the  necessary  superstructure 
emergency.     Sonic   unseen    hand,  no  doiiht,  it  d 
insr  all  (his.     It  is  not  mere  instinct, such  as  the 
rel's  which  impels  him  to  prepare  shelter  and  food  lm 
winter,  or  as  that  of  the  bird  of  i •  .  ihat  leads  H  m 

seek  a  wanner  climate  when  cold  storms  are  driving. 
No  doubt  the  shelter  will  be  huilt.  and  the  food  fa  the 
events  that  are  pressing  down  upon  the  world  will  he 
gathered*  for  nature  is  ever  true  to  her  own  laws,  and 
her  God  never  directs  and  guides  in  vain. 

Upon  the  heel  of  this  last-mentioned  character istk) 
is  a  fearful  shrinking  from  the  responsibility  of  carry- 
ing out  those  principles  that  are  understood  into  their 
practical  hearing,  or  a  fearfulness  of  entering  new  and 
untried  paths.  There  is  an  evident  want  of  moral 
courage,  that  most  indispensable  and  estimable  of  all 
(pialities.  The  world  is  not  slow  in  reducing  a  prin- 
ciple to  practice,  when  it  will  conduce  to  public  or  pri- 
vate interest  in  dollars  and  cents,  but  there  is  an 
alarming  deficiency  in  this  respect  in  all  moral  ques- 
tions.  These  principles  appear  to  be  perceived,  with 
more  or  less  distinctness,  and  affirmed  by  consc 
and  reason,  with  more  or  less  authority.  On  all  great 
moral  questions  that  claim  universal  attention,  and 
such  as  from  their  importance  do,  in  some  measure, 
receive  it,  the  public  mind  appears  to  be  averse  to  tak- 
ing sides.  The  doctrine  of  expediency  is  usually 
urged  in  defence,  as  though  anything  of  a  worldly 
character  could  set  aside  tin-  claims  of  truth  and  right- 
eousness.  Under  various  circumstances  the  truth  is 
acknowledged ;  but  when  its  full  reception  would  in* 
\ol\e  a  loss  of  wealth  or  reputation,  it  is  shrunk  from. 
The  nation's  and  the  world's  conscience,  and,  indeed, 
that  of  the  Church,  appears  to  be  formed  on  the  prin- 
13 


288  PHILOSOPHY    OF    REFORM. 

eiples  that  regulate  the  business  affairs  of  men.  That 
which  is  right  according  to  those  rules  and  regulations-, 
is  considered  morally  right.  Men  appear  to  feel  that 
they  have  done  all  that  is  or  can  be  required  of  them 
when  they  have  conformed  to  civil  laws  and  regula- 
tions. Now,  these  laws  come  infinitely  short  of  the 
moral  law.  They  only  prohibit  some  of  the  fiercest 
outbreaks  of  selfishness,  while  they  permit  us  to  be  as 
selfish  in  heart  as  we  desire.  They  are  merely  de- 
signed as  rules  to  regulate  the  selfish  business  of  man- 
kind. Individuals,  corporations  and  nations  appear  to 
have  no  fear  of  God  before  their  eyes.  If  they  have 
complied  with  the  prescribed  rules,  they  are  contented, 
and  pride  themselves  on  their  own  righteousness.  In 
all  the  various  enterprises  and  measures  of  nations, 
the  will  of  God  is  not  consulted,  but  every  plan  is  pro- 
jected and  conducted  with  simple  reference  to  the 
dollar  and  cent  honor  of  the  nation,  without  the  moral 
bearing  of  the  question  ever  being  examined.  Thus, 
the  moral  sense  of  nations  and  corporations,  if  it  can 
be  said  they  possess  a  conscience,  is  greatly  weakened 
and  almost  destroyed. 

Here  we  may  account  for  the  almost  universal  spi- 
rit of  lawlessness  and  mobism  that  has  manifested  it- 
self so  generally  within  the  last  few  years.  It  will 
not  do,  as  some  have  supposed,  to  account  for  it  in  the 
prevalence  of  intemperance,  partyism  and  papacy. 
If  these  are  urged  as  the  causes,  we  would  ask,  What 
has  produced  them  1  Why  is  it  that  partyism  prevails 
so  extensively,  even  to  the  destruction  of  almost  every 
vital  civil  interest  %  Why  intemperance  and  papacy  ? 
Would  the  world  allow  of  these,  which  we  regard  as 
secondary  causes,  to  exist  an  hour,  if  it  possessed  an 
enlightened  and   active  conscience  ?     We  believe  it 


STATE    OF    THE    WORLD'8    REFORMATION. 

would  not.  Did  men  feel  that  God  reigns  on  earth 
aa  well  as  in  heaven,  and  that  human  gov. ■nuncni.N 
are  part  of  that  stupendous  machinery  by  which  he 
will  secure  his  ultimate  end  in  creation,  they  would 
respect  the  authority  of  civil  institutions,  and  submit 
to  all  righteous  and  wholesome  laws,  if  for  no  other 
reason,  through  fear  of  bringing  down  upon  themselves 
the  just  retribution  of  Heaven.  Instead  of  this,  the 
restraints  of  law,  the  authority  of  rulers  and  the  claims 
of  God  are  cast  aside,  and  men  feel  that  they  have  a 
right  to  rise  up  in  rebellion  when  they  choose,  and 
revolutionize  and  remodel  the  government. 

It  was  not  thus  with  our  fathers.  Their  spirit  should 
be  instilled  into  the  heart  of  the  people,  if  we  would 
correct  this  evil.  It  may  here  be  asked,  if  we  mean 
to  imply  that  our  fathers  were  in  advance  of  us  1  We 
answer,  yes,  in  the  particular  under  consideration. 
They  were  not  so  far  advanced  in  the  truth  in  general, 
thai  is,  the  principles  of  truth  had  not  been  so  far  de- 
veloped among  them  as  among  us ;  yet  they  had  far 
more  moral  courage  than  their  sons  of  the  present  day. 
What  they  knew  was  settled  in  their  own  minds,  and 
it  was  there  a  reality.  It  had  been  wrought  out  by 
the  hardest,  and  they  feared  not  to  avow  and  carry  it 
out  as  a  true  principle  in  all  things,  simply  because 
they  feared  God  and  loved  the  truth.  We  need  their 
fearlessness  of  consequences,  and  their  simple  piety 
and  courage. 

Wuhin  a  few  years  past,  the  world  and  the  Church 
have,  by  the  force  of  circumstances,  almost  been  driven 
to  carry  out  those  principles  of  truth  in  every  depart- 
ment of  life ;  but  they  have  shrunk  back  as  from  a 
gaping  gulf,  and,  to  avoid  disgrace  and  make  show 
of  consistency,  they  are  beginning  to  plead  the  usages, 


290  PHILOSOPHY    OF    REFORM. 

habits  and  doctrines  of  the  past,  as  though  all  wisdom 
and  truth  lived  with  our  fathers.  For  the  purpose, 
also,  of  avoiding  the  evils  arising  from  the  instability 
of  things,  men  are  calling  for  those  times  that  were 
characterized  with  immobility;  but,  should  they  come, 
they  would  not  be  owned.  They  were  appropriate  to 
the  days  of  their  existence,  not  to  the  present. 

These  facts  prove  that  the  world  is  advancing,  that 
the  former  systems  are  ^nearly  worn  out  and  useless, 
and  that  men  are  beginning  to  feel  the  need  of  more 
liberal  and  extensive  organizations,  such  as  shall  be 
conformed  to  the  enlightened  spirit  of  the  age.  There 
is  no  rest  for  this  world,  from  henceforth,  but  upon  the 
truth.  Here  is  stability  and  active  regularity.  The 
world  feels  this.  It  has  found  by  examination  that  it 
is  slumbering  over  a  volcano.  Still,  as  strange  as  it 
may  appear,  men  are  afraid  to  leave  their  trembling 
hold  and  trust  themselves  to  the  naked  truth  ;  but  this 
will  be  gained,  not  suddenly,  for  the  human  mind  is 
averse  to  harsh  and  rapid  changes,  but  gradually,  and 
thus  an  enlightened  system  will  be  formed  that  will 
meet  the  demand  of  the  times,  and  give  full  play  to 
all  our  faculties  in  their  most  perfect  state  of  develop- 
ment. 

In  our  endeavors  to  mark  down  the  world's  where- 
abouts, we  must  not  omit  to  mention  the  peculiar  state 
of  the  Church.  The  state  of  the  Church  is  peculiar 
not  only  to  this,  but  it  is  unlike  that  of  any  other  age. 
It  is  divided  into  numerous  and  various  sects,  each 
claiming  to  be  modeled  after  the  primitive  Church, 
both  externally  and  internally.  A  few  are  sufficiently 
liberal  to  tolerate,  or  regard  as  Christians,  the  mem- 
bers of  other  sects,  and  probably  this  liberality  in  theory 
extends  sufficiently  far;  but  the  majority  have  no  fel- 


STATi:    OP    THE    WOBLD'S    KKFOKMATION.       291 

low  ship  or  communion,  as  Christians,  with   ;in>    !>u( 
their  own  brotherhood. 

The  evangelical  sens— those  \\  bom  the  world  re 
gard  as  true  Christians — are  about  squally  divided  in 
wealth,  numbers  anil  influence.  For  a  long  lime  liny 
have  been  pursuing  then  several  undeviat ing  |>;,il,^ 
which  were  previously  marked  out  and  establish)  -d  M 
the  only  true  ones  by  theii  founders.  Their  object 
has  appeared  to  be  to  perfect  their  several  systems  or 
rather  extend  them  ;  for  they  were  doubtless  regarded 
as  perfect,  or  nearly  so,  when  they  were  projected,  or 
they  would  never  have  been  adopted.  No  one  has 
seemed  to  think  of  making  improvements,  hut  all  have 
followed  in  the  beaten  pathway  cautiously  and  r<  grflr 
larlv,  without  expecting  to  see  the  world  converted  in 
their  day,  but  trusting  that  something  would  happen 
in  time  which  should  accomplish  this  long  prayed-for 
work.  Their  habits,  plans  and  measures  have  been 
all  stereotyped  and  peculiar  to  each  sect,  and  no  one 
•It  a  disposition  to  abandon  the  "  good  old  way." 
This,  we  say,  has  been  the  case  in  the  Church  for  a 
long  time;  but  now,  how  changed!  Now  there  is 
nothing  stable,  but  everything  is  in  commotion  and 
changing.  There  are  schisms  in  every  communion, 
and  divisions  breaking  out  on  every  hand.  The  old 
ways  are  Broken  up,  and  every  habit,  plan,  doctrine 
and  measure  is  called  in  question  and  compelled  to 
undergo  a  thorough  trial  by  being  subjected  to  the 
fiercest  flame.  It  is  difficult  for  the  several  sects  so  to 
manage  as  to  secure  the  co-operation  of  the  whole 
body.  The  most  skillful  ecclesiastical  tacticians  have 
taxed  their  utmost  strength  in  disciplining  their  parties, 
and  in  devising  ways  and  means  for  securing  the 
popular  favor.    But,  after  all  the  prudence  and  wisdom 


292  PHILOSOPHY    OF    REFORM. 

of  men,  after  all  the  drilling,  marching  and  counter- 
marching, threatening,  bribing  and  flattering,  there 
will  be  a  schism  in  the  Scotch  Church,  Puseyism  will 
increase,  the  Methodist,  Presbyterian  and  Baptist 
Churches  will  divide,  and  provisional  committees  and 
anti-slavery  conventions  for  the  purpose  of  prosecuting 
the  missionary  enterprise  will  be  formed.  Various 
expedients  are  resorted  to  for  the  purpose  of  healing 
these  difficulties ;  but  we  trust  they  will  not  be  healed 
slightly,  and,  if  need  be,  that  the  external  appearance 
will  be  still  worse  until  the  remedy  shall  be  applied, 
thereby  effecting  a  radical  cure. 

The  plan  on  which  these  sects  have  prosecuted  their 
objects  has  been  too  narrow  and  circumscribed.  This 
begins  to  be  felt.  As  is  natural,  to  obviate  the  diffi- 
culty that  has  arisen  and  is  arising,  some  will  rush  into 
the  other  extreme,  and  will  become  wild  and  fanatical ; 
others  will  be  discouraged  and  disgusted  by  these  too 
narrow  and  superficial  views,  and  turn  around  and 
curse  the  whole  system ;  and  still  others  will  be  thrown 
into  the  same  state  of  mind  as  those  of  the  eleventh 
century,  who,  when  feudalism  triumphed,  and  pro- 
duced apparent  confusion  and  chaos  in  all  things,  sup- 
posed the  end  of  the  world  had  come,  or  that  the  in- 
creased darkness  was  the  percursor  of  sudden  light. 
Here  we  are,  then,  in  a  broken-up  state.  We  succeed, 
to  be  sure,  in  keeping  up  a  visible  organization,  but  it 
is  too  evident  we  possess  nut  little  of  the  pure  and  unde- 
filed  religion  of  the  gospel.  We  may  look  for  more 
thorough  and  strenuous  efforts  to  sustain  and  extend 
these  various  parties,  for  they  will  be  put  forth  in  pro- 
portion as  their  weakness  becomes  apparent.  This,  in 
its  turn,  will  have  an  effect  to  increase  the  love  of  sect. 
This  may  become  so  much  increased  as  to  create  big- 


STATE    OP    THE    WORLD'S    REFORMATION.       gQQ 

otry  and  narrowness  in  our  views  and  feelings  to  that 
extent,  that  we  shall  be  thrown  into  such  positions  in 
relation  to  each  other,  as  will  cause  us  so  to  conduct 
<»>ns(  1\(  s  as  to  disgrace  religion  before  the  world.  We 
hope  for  boiler  things,  but  most  assuredly  the  heavens 
blacken,  while  everything  wears  the  appearance  of 
Midtlrn  doolation. 

We  account  for  tins  state  of  things  in  the  Church, 
on  ihe  supposition  that  the  system  adopted  for  tin- 
propagation  of  truth  has  been  outgrown  by  the  present 
age.  It  was  perfect,  or  perfectly  adapted  to  the  state 
of  things  that  existed  when  it  was  formed,  but,  as  a 
system,  it  has  become  altogether  false.  It  will  be 
thrown  aside  soon,  and  a  more  perfect  one  introduced. 
In  this  view  of  the  facts  in  the  case  our  prospects  are 
bright  and  cheering. 

As  grievous  as  it  may  be,  we  should  not  be  faithful 
to  our  trust,  did  we  not  mention  the  too  evident  strug- 
gle between  candor  and  bigotry,  honesty  and  dishon- 
esty, sincerity  and  Jesuitical  trickery  as  a  prominent 
characteristic  of  the  times.  At  one  time  the  good  is 
uppermost,  and  then  again  the  evil  disposition  appears 
to  be  victorious.  The  mind  is  sufficiently  enlightened 
to  perceive  the  truth,  and  where  it  will  not  come  in 
collision  with  men's  interests  it  cheerfully  obeys  it. 
When  we '  are  able  to  engage  the  mind  upon  some 
abstract  truth,  it  is  usually  candid,  generous  and  lib- 
eral ;  but  men  are  different  beings  when  we  would 
urge  them  to  apply  these  principles  to  the  removal  of 
existing  error.  They  seem  to  deplore  the  evil  and 
love  the  truth;  still,  they  are  far  more  tender  and 
careful  of  their  own  interests  than  zealous  for  the 
truth.  The  truth  is,  they  are  wedded  to  their  systems 
and  schemes.     They  see,  and  to  some  extent  love, 


294  PHILOSOPHY    OF    REFORM. 

the  truth,  but  they  love  their  systems  better;  and, 
therefore,  everything  is  made  to  aid  their  own  plans 
and  theories. 

How  evident  all  this  is  in  the  political  world. 
Here,  the  same  men,  who,  on  almost  any  other  ques- 
tion, are  charitable,  liberal,  sincere  and  honest,  are 
uncharitable,  bigoted  and  dishonest.  Upon  the  same 
side  of  a  political  journal,  you  may  find  low,  vulgar, 
and  abusive  slang,  when  an  opponent  is  the  subject 
of  remark,  in  connection  with  the  most  liberal  and 
patriotic  views,  when  some  subject  is  under  considera- 
tion, the  fair  and  honest  discussion  of  which  will  not 
injure  the  party. 

England  is  kind,  benevolent  and  honest,  when  she 
would  treat  on  slavery,  but  this  same  people  are  cruel, 
dishonest,  and  absolutely  villainous,  when  they  come 
to  legislate  for  their  own  starving  poor.  She  looks 
out  upon  the  world  with,  pity  and  compassion,  and, 
in  a  mournful  voice,  pleads  for  the  freedom  of  the 
poor  slave,  while  her  own  heel  is  pressed  down  hea- 
vily upon  the  bosoms  of  thousands  of  her  own  coun- 
trymen. How  strange  that  the  groans  of  her  starving 
population,  wrapped  up  in  mid-winter  on  their  straw 
couches,  seeking,  as  near  as  possible,  the  torpid  state 
of  reptiles  to  banish  hunger,  finds  no  response  in 
her  heart,  while  the  clanking  chains  of  the  bond- 
man across  the  big  waters  arouses  every  feeling  of  her 
soul,  and  creates  a  deep  sensation  of  horror,  of  indig- 
nation and  compassion ! 

So,  too,  with  Americans !  We  can  express  our 
sympathy  for  the  Greeks  and  Poles,  for  the  poor 
priest-ridden  papist  in  Italy,  for  the  idolatrous  Hin- 
doo and  Chinese,  and  for  the  heathen  everywhere,  by 
our  liberal  contributions  and  prayers  ;  but  how  cold 


STATE    OF   Ti  LDfS    kki-okmation        295 

,iik1  distant,  and  oftentimes  indignant,  when  iheclaiim 

of  our  American  heathen  are  pressed  on ■  attention  I 

\\ re  have  charity,  candor  and  Liberality,  irheii  we 
investigate  any  question  relating  to  our  own  particular 
•Set,  tat,  ifl  tlie  same  time,  we  look  with  jealousy  ,md 
suspicion  upon  others.  Thus  it  is  all  over  the  world. 
Men  are  disposed  to  be  liberal  towards  that  which 
favors  their  interests,  while  they  are  the  very  opposite 
a  1m  n  anything  of  a  different  character  presents  itself. 
We  trust  that  our  present  position  is  pretty  well 
understood.  We  are  out  in  the  wide,  de< 
amid  a  heavy  storm,  with  rocks,  on  which  we  may  be 
driven,  even  where  in  sight,  while  ice  mountains  are 
apparently  moving  down  upon  us  with  threatening 
mien,  and  the  clouds  are  dark  and  heavy.  Many  a 
sinut  heart  is  appalled.  Confusion  reigns  and  ruin  is 
apparently  inevitable.  But  no;  our  present  position 
i>  a  natural  one,  and  we  shall  soon  be  removed  from 
all  danger.  Judging  from  what  is  now  known  of  the 
laws  of  reformation,  and  its  state  as  we  have  exhib- 
ited it  in  former  periods,  we  shall  see  the  present  age, 
with  all  its  life  and  motion,  could  not  help  coming. 
Not  only  this,  but  abundant  reason  for  cheerfulness 
and  joy  in  view  of  the  future. 


13* 


CHAPTER    XII 


PROSPECTS    OF    THE    WORLD'S    REFORMATION. 

Prospects  in  the  moral  world— Prospects  in  the  scientific,  literary  and 
civil  world — The  world  is  moved  together — The  world  cannot  be  moved 
again  by  small  ideas — The  state  of  things  in  the  East — Conclusion. 

There  is  an  end  to  everything.  The  end  of  a  system 
or  an  enterprise,  is  its  final  result  or  accomplishment. 
All  our  plans  and  schemes  are  organized,  and  all  our 
labor  expended,  in  reference  to  this  ultimate  object. 
By  this  we  are  encouraged  and  cheered  amid  all  dif- 
ficulties, and  strengthened  to  overcome  all  obstacles. 

How  gloomy,  therefore,  and  inactive  must  be  the 
life  of  those  whose  future  is  a  blank.  A  confidence  of 
ultimate  success,  or  a  knowledge  of  the  future  is  indis- 
pensable, not  only  to  honorable  and  dignified  exertion, 
but  to  great  and  heroic  deeds.  In  this  way,  the  gene- 
ral inspires  his  army  with  invincible  courage — the 
teacher  his  scholars  with  unconquerable  perseverance 
— and  the  statesman  his  countrymen  with  hope  and 
zeal. 

In  all  our  philanthropic  and  reformatory  efforts,  we 
need,  not  only  the  confidence  that  a  knowledge  of  the 
fact  of  the  world's  thorough  reformation  will  inspire, 
but  the  regularity  and  stability  that  is  caused  by  our 
understanding  of  the  bearing  of  the  present  on  the  fu- 
ture state  of  things.     We  must  be  able  to  know  how 


PROSPECTS   OF    THE    WORLD'S    REFORMATION.    297 

this  system,  of  (hat  enterprise  or  measure  will  affect 
the  world  in  its  final  result,  before  we  can  engage  in 
any  tinny-  widi  ronfalrnce.  There  is  an  abundance  of 
work  in  every  direction,  indeed  "  the  fields  are  white 
for  the  harvest,"  but  it  will  not  do  to  engage  without 
system  or  order,  for  by  so  doing,  we  shall  not  only  soon 
be  discouraged,  but  while  we  continue  our  exertions, 
we  shall  be  fitful  and  irregular. 

In  the  preceding  chapters,  we  have  exhibited  the 
fact  of  the  world's  thorough  reformation,  together  with 
the  plan  for  its  accomplishment.  And  for  the  purpose 
of  rendering  our  confidence  firm  and  unshaken,  and 
giving  permanency  and  regularity  to  all  our  labors,  we 
will  here  point  out  what  we  suppose  will  be  the  result 
of  the  present  state  of  things  in  the  several  departments 
of  life. 

We  lay  no  claim  to  the  spirit  of  prophecy :  indeed, 
this  is  not  needed  to  foretell  this  result  with  absolute 
certainty,  when  we  have  a  knowledge  of  the  principle 
and  laws  of  reformation,  together  with  the  history  of 
the  world,  which  will  afford  examples  of  almost  every 
supposable  state  of  things.  If  our  theory  be  correct, 
it  will  account  not  only  for  all  past  events,  but  furnish 
us  rules  by  which  we  may  judge  of  the  future. 

The  world  already  begins  to  feel  the  need  of  this 
knowledge,  and  we  shall  feel  ourselves  doubly  repaid 
for  all  our  labor,  if  we  can  lift  up  a  single  soul  from 
despair,  or  direct  a  single  lost  man  to  the  temple  of 
truth — the  home  of  the  race. 

Appearances  may  be  foreboding,  while  the  more 
remote  prospects  are  most  cheering ;  otherwise  Colum- 
bus would  never  have  succeeded  in  unfurling  his  ban- 
ner in  the  New  World.  He  was  regarded  a  visionary 
dreamer  by  the  majority  of  the  world,  and  the  dirfi- 


298  PHILOSOPHY    OF    REFORM. 

culties  he  had  to  contend  with  were  altogether  insur- 
mountable to  any  one  but  him  whose  spirit  could  pen- 
etrate the  darkness  of  the  age,  and  find  rest  for  its  flut- 
tering wing  in  an  unknown,  distant  land.  The  ap- 
pearances that  everywhere  were  present  to  Luther 
were  such  as  would  have  discouraged  most  men,  but 
he  looked  beyond  the  raging  storm,  and  received  calm, 
cool  courage  from  the  cheering  prospect. 

In  some  of  the  present  departments  of  life,  the  ap- 
pearances are  anything  but  cheering.  There  is  but 
little  doubt  but  that  there  is  much  fruit  to  be  gathered 
from  the  discordant  and  half-developed  principles  at 
which  we  have  glanced,  as  existing  in  the  womb  of 
the  present  age.  There  has  been  a  gradual  tendency 
to  lawlessness,  on  the  one  hand,  and  to  superstition  on 
the  other ;  and  we  expect,  if  men  tremble  at  the  chaos 
and  confusion  that  reigns  around  them  at  the  present 
time,  they  will  be  truly  beside  themselves  when  they 
see  the  full  development  of  what  is  evidently  forth- 
coming. Providence  has  not  broken  in  upon  all  ranks 
for  nothing — the  hindrances  to  mental  freedom  have 
not  been  removed  for  nothing — nor  has  the  world  been 
educated  for  nothing.  There  is  an  evident  design  in 
all  this.  The  time  is  hastening,  when  all  that  is  built 
upon  hay,  wood  and  stubble,  will  be  destroyed.  God 
is  to  arise  and  judge  among  the  nations,  and  that  which 
will  not  bear  his  fiery  trial  will  be  swept  away.  He 
will  overturn  and  overturn,  build  up  and  destroy,  until 
truth  shall  be  established  in  all  the  earth.  Men  may 
deplore  the  destruction  of  what  they  regard  sacred, 
and  cling  to  it  with  a  death  grasp,  yet  all  chaff — mere 
tinsel  and  semblance — will  be  destroyed  and  scattered. 
So  it  will  be  with  those  who,  perceiving  what  they 
imagine  to  be  the  plans  and  intentions  of  Heaven,  are 


PR0SPECT8    l  U'S    II  I.  UMATION.    399 

runniiiii  forward  and  driving  to  pull  down  ■  hat  they 
suppose  k  would  destroy)  and  build  up  what  tin  j 
think  it  would  luiild.  II iey  will  meet  with  sham-  ami 
disappointment.  These  wild,  fanatical  nun  air  none 
of  God's  workmen. 

If  not  a  sparrow  falls  to  the  ground  without  cm 
Father's  notice,  we  may  suppose  that  no  movement 
of  the  world  will  take  phu g  without  engaging  his  re- 
gard and  interest.  It  is  true,  then,  that  he  manages 
all  things  in  wisdom  and  riyhn ousness.  We  have  no 
fears,  therefore,  even  if  the  present  confusion  should 
he  worse  confounded.  It  hai  all  been  designed  for 
good,  and  order  will  be  brought  out  of  contusion  by 
and  by.  A  skillful  seaman  prefers  a  storm  to  B  dead 
calm. 

What  are  the  prospects  in  respect  to  the  moral 
world  1  It  is  something  more  than  problematical,  in 
our  own  estimation — judging  from  the  existing  state  of 
things,  and  the  principles  now  in  operation  in  the 
Church — that  she  will  become  more  and  more  formal 
and  ceremonious,  until  she  comes  to  exist  in  mere  out- 
ward form  and  show.  We  could  sincerely  wish  for  a 
better  state  of  things  in  prospect,  but  this  is  our  fear 
and  expectation.  To  this  lamentable  state  the  Church 
is  evidently  tending,  in  striving  to  give  stability  and 
dignity  to  her  present  unstable  movements.  To  avoid 
the  one  there  is  a  too  evident  disposition  to  rush  into 
the  other  extreme.  It  is  true,  in  every  part  of  the 
world,  that  those  sects  that  have  exhibited  the  finest 
and  most  beautiful  and  grand  appearance  in  their 
worship,  are  increasing  rapidly.  And,  it  is  to  be 
feared,  they  have  exerted  a  very  pernicious  influence 
on  those  among  whom  pure  and  vital  religion  has 
been  cultivated,  so  that  now  they  begin  to  put  on  the 


300  PHILOSOPHY    OF    REFORM. 

external  appearance  of  their  more  fashionable  neigh- 
bors. This  has  been  the  religion  of  the  world  in  all 
ages,  and  it  has  been  dressed  according  to  the  intelli- 
gence and  refinement  of  the  people.  Therefore,  should 
it  prevail,  it  may  find  its  history  in  that  of  former  reli- 
gions and  of  the  world. 

The  public  mind  will  not  suffer  itself  to  be  ruffled 
and  agitated  much  longer.  Some  master-spirit  will 
soon  arise  to  quell  the  rage,  or  the  various  sects  will 
settle  things  among  themselves  in  a  manner  to  secure, 
if  possible,  the  harmony  and  co-operation  of  all. 
Some  leading  idea  may  arise  from  the  universal  jum- 
ble, that  will  be  the  leading  and  directing  star ;  at 
least,  the  public  mind  will  settle  down  on  something 
definite  and  tangible,  and,  from  appearances,  as  we 
have  already  said,  we  expect  it  will  be  a  dead,  cere- 
monious religion ;  not  this  in  name,  for  it  would  be 
abhorrent  to  all  minds,  yet  this  in  fact,  for  it  will  pro- 
bably possess  a  regular,  defined  exterior,  and  also  in- 
terior. The  world  can  easily  be  gathered  into  such  a 
Church,  and,  by  being  permitted  to  pursue  their 
usual  avocations,  they  will  easily  submit  to  the  regular 
routine  of  duties.  The  age  is  too  intelligent,  and  too 
well  instructed  in  Scripture  truth,  to  allow  that  this 
is  the  acknowledged  character  and  design  of  the 
Church ;  still  it  may  be  sustained  indirectly  and  nega- 
tively. Men  may  hold  to  the  great  fundamental  prin- 
ciples of  the  gospel,  and  not  be  true  Christians  in 
heart.  It  will  become  an  easy  matter,  comparatively, 
for  the  Church  to  become  satisfied  with  mere  philoso- 
phical preaching,  and  well -written  essays  on  religious 
subjects.  This  teaching,  though  it  may  not  be  radical 
error,  will  produce  more  disastrous  and  destructive 
results  than  the  rankest  heresy. 


PKO3PE0TS    OF    THE    WORLD'S    RBPOHMATI<>.\.    301 

The  fan  thai  the  system  adopted  by  the  Chm.li 
for  the  propagation  of  religion,  and  for  the  purpose  of 
securing  what  our  moral  being  demands,  is  nearly 
outgrown,  confirms  the  fefcfi  we  have  expressed.  It 
was  adopted  in  afar  different  state  of  tilings  than  tins 
of  the  present  time.  It  has  worked  well,  and  accom- 
plished its  mission.  Men  have  fee— IB  more  fully 
developed,  and,  consequently,  their  wants  have  in- 
creased above  those  of  our  fathers ;  and  hence,  what 
was  satisfactory  to  them  is  bondage  and  misery 
to  us.  Still,  not  being  able  to  devise  any  plan  to 
supply  these  wants,  and  regarding  the  present  system 
perfect,  our  uneasiness  will  only  cause  us  to  renew 
our  hold  upon  our  present  schemes  and  increase  our 
affection  for  them.  Here,  then,  a  single  sect  will 
rest  until  the  others  are  elevated  to  the  same  position, 
and  then,  when  they  have  nothing  more  to  strive  for, 
and  finding  that  the  former  distinctions  are  narrowed 
to  a  mere  point,  they  will  join  hands,  and  lift  up 
their  shout  for  union.  We  would  rejoice  could  we 
believe  that  this  union  will  be  that  which  is  promised, 
but  this  we  cannot  expect.  The  system  is  too  imper- 
fect to  secure  this  even  when  perfected.  The  Roman 
Church  once  held  the  truth.  It  extended  itself  over 
the  whole  world,  and  instilled  into  the  hearts  of  men 
all  the  practical  principles  her  system  contained.  In 
other  words,  she  elevated  the  world  to  her  own  moral 
level,  and  thus  produced  an  equilibrium,  and,  of 
course,  a  peaceful  calm.  Here  she  rested,  confident 
of  her  own  perfection,  and  became  haughty  and  arro- 
gant. The  bulk  increased,  so  that  there  was  not  suf- 
ficient conservative  influence  in  the  truth  of  her  sys- 
tem to  preserve  it,  therefore  she  soon  became  corrupt 
and  lost  even  the  life  she  formerly  possessed.     But  it 


302  PHILOSOPHY    OF    REFORM. 

was  not  lost  to  the  world.  It  was  treasured  in  the 
hearts  of  men.  It  lived  in  France,  and  there  pro- 
duced a  revolution  ;  it  lived  in  England,  in  Holland ; 
and,  banished  from  the  Old  World,  it  lives  and  thrives 
in  America.  Thus  it  may  be  with  the  Church  at  the 
present  day.  Its  system  is  no  doubt  far  more  perfect 
than  that  of  the  Roman  Church,  but  not  sufficiently 
extensive  to  admit  of  the  full  play  of  our  entire  being 
when  fully  developed.  It  has  already  nearly  elevated 
the  world  to  its  own  moral  level.  Therefore,  the 
world  is  about  as  moral  and  virtuous  as  the  Church — 
we  mean  that  portion  of  it  under  the  direct  influence 
of  the  Church — or  the  equilibrium  is  about  gained. 
When  this  is  fully  accomplished,  we  may  expect  a 
union  of  the  world  in  religious  matters.  Of  course, 
its  requirements  cannot  be  more  than  unregenerated 
men  can  cheerfully  subscribe  to,  therefore  it  must  be 
a  fashionable  and  ceremonious  religion. 

But  suppose  this  should  be  the  result  of  the  present 
state  of  things  in  the  Church,  it  is  evident  it  could  not 
remain  for  any  great  length  of  time.  There  is  already 
too  much  truth  established  in  the  world,  far  too  much 
intelligence  to  admit  of  any  other  supposition.  Let 
the  Church  settle  down  into  a  state  of  immobility,  and 
she  might  expect  insurrection  in  every  quarter.  She 
is  watched  and  guarded  with  a  jealous  eye.  Let  this 
be  the  case,  and  the  truth  would  be  proclaimed  trum- 
pet-tongued  that  would  break  her  slumbers,  however 
sound.  The  world  has  advanced  too  far  in  the  paths 
of  truth  to  admit  of  the  supposition  that  it  will  be  wil- 
lingly led  into  quiet  and  peace  on  any  moral  question, 
unless  that  question  is  definitely  and  truthfully  settled. 
We  can  imagine,  however,  that  in  a  state  of  despera- 
tion men  might  rush  to  the  other  extreme  for  the  time 


PROSPECTS    OF    Till-;     WORLD'S    REFORMATION.    3Q3 

being,  to  avoid  wild,  fanatical  excitement,  and  settle 
down  m  lileol  contentment ;  but,  after  all,  there  ii  no 
rest  for  tins  world,  from  henceforth,  but  in  the  truth. 

Suppose  our  fears  should  all  be  ivalr/.i  d,  and  the 
world  heconir  filled  with  a  ceremonious  religion,  what 
will  be  i lie  probable  final  effect  upon   mankind? 

1  Ins  is  a  grave  question.  But,  as  we  have  said,  it 
could  not  remain  in  (hat  state  long,  and,  indeed,  we 
have  no  doubt  but  that  the  victory  would  be  defeat. 
Should  this  state  of  things  prevail,  doubtless  on  effort 
would  be  mode  to  unite  the  various  sects.  We  u 
gine  this  would  not  be  difficult ,  when  we  consider  that 
out  of  Jive  of  the  prominent  evangelical  denominations, 
four  hold  to  the  unity  of  the  visible  organization  of 
the  Church.  Let  this  be  done  and  it  would  outrage 
the  world  at  once,  and  it  would  soon  be  overthrown 
and  destroyed  ;  if  not,  it  might  exist,  just  as  all  such 
organizations  have  done  before,  to  become  corrupt,  and 
in  the  end  be  destroyed. 

Even  granting  all  this,  and  let  the  world  be  gath- 
ered into  one  great  body  of  professing  Christians  hold- 
ing to,  and  teaching  in  theory,  the  fundamental  doc- 
trines of  the  gospel  while  the  spirit  is  wanting,  as  a 
world,  we  should  be  far  better  prepared  for  it,  in  e\ 
respect,  than  ever  before;  and,  should  we  becom- 
corrupt  and  another  reformation  be  demanded,  we  are 
better  prepared  for  that  than  were  those  of  the  six- 
teenth century. 

It  is  evident  that  things  are  fast  finding  their  level. 
Regularity  is  a  fixed  law  in  the  moral  as  well  as  in  the 
physical  world.  The  nature  of  our  moral  system  is 
such,  that  it  will  seek  and  attain  stability  whenever  its 
natural  motion  or  action  is  broken  up.  Therefore, 
however  wild  the  confusion,  and  however  fierce  the 


304  PHILOSOPHY    OF    REFORM. 

contest,  regularity  will  be  obtained.  It  may  require 
years  and  ages  to  obtain  it  permanently ;  of  course  so, 
for  there  is  no  permanent  regularity  except  the  whole 
system  is  conformed  to  the  truth — but  itiuill  be  obtained. 
A  new  system  will  be  created,  and  the  old  one  thrown 
away,  and  thus  the  race  will  be  advanced  another 
stage  toward  its  future  permanent  elevation. 

We  admit  that  the  present  appearances  in  the  moral 
world  are  forbidding.  It  would  seem  at  first  sight  that 
no  advance  has  been  made  in  the  truth  for  ages.  In- 
deed the  world  appears  to  be  growing  worse  and  worse. 
But,  if  we  look  close  and  deep  into  things,  we  shall 
find  it  is  an  effort  of  nature  to  bring  about  regularity 
and  harmony  in  her  movements.  Men,  while  they 
have  understood  the  true  method  of  prosecuting  their 
labors,  have  been  too  willing  to  adopt  cheaper  and 
easier  plans  for  securing  regularity  and  peace.  It  is 
possible  to  purchase  our  peace  at  too  dear  a  rate ;  not, 
however,  if  it  be  permanent  peace.  It  should  be  re- 
membered that  there  is  peace  and  quiet  in  the  grave,  but 
we  want  a  living  peace,  not  a  dead  one.  There  is  quiet 
and  beauty  on  yonder  mountain,  while  beneath  the  sur- 
face boils  a  sea  of  fire  that  will  burst  out  by  and  by  and 
break  up  that  peace.  The  world  demands  a  peace  be- 
yond the  reach  of  all  enemies,  a  peace  with  a  sure, 
firm  foundation. 

The  knowledge  of  the  arts  and  sciences  has  never 
been  so  universal  and  perfect  as  at  the  present  day. 
The  same  may  be  said  of  literature.  The  literature 
of  the  Greeks  and  Romans — if  we  understand  by  this 
merely  that  which  is  actually  written  by  a  people — 
was  as  perfect  as  that  of  our  own  time,  but  it  was  con- 
fined to  a  very  few  subjects,  and  may  be  said  to  be 
possessed  of  but  one  idea.     It  was  also  confined  to 


PROSPECTS    OF    Tin:    WORLD'S    REFORMATION.    305 

very  few  individuals.  The  majority  were  ignorant 
and  vicious.  Even  granting  that  they  were  advanced 
in  (his  knowledge  as  far  as  we  are,  the  sain<  b 
penetrated  the  whole  mass  renders  our  present  posi- 
tion far  in  advance  of  theirs.  The  arts  and  sn 
were  not  carried  to  any  great  degree  of  perfection — 
not  sufficiently  far  to  be  of  any  great  practical  benefit 
to  mankind.  Had  we  no  other  proof  of  these  facts 
than  that  which  is  derived  from  a  knowledge  of  fee 
slight  development  of  the  nature  of  the  people  at  that 
time,  it  would  be  enough  to  satisfy  any  one  of  their 
correctness,  for  we  have  demonstrated  that  in  propor- 
tion to  man's  development  will  be  his  wants,  and  that 
these  wants  will  call  forth  sufficient  inventive  power 
to  build  machinery  to  supply  them.  But  at  the  pre- 
sent day  new  discoveries  are  constantly  made,  and 
every  element,  even  the  lightning,  is  made  to  contri- 
bute to  the  benefit  of  the  race.  In  this  country,  and 
in  most  of  the  countries  of  Europe,  general  intelligence 
has  penetrated  the  whole  system,  and  in  almost  every 
portion  of  the  world  there  is  an  evident  waking  up  to 
the  same  subject.  The  strength  of  man  has  been  in- 
creased a  thousand  fold,  and  he  will  soon  be  able  to 
hold  the  reins  of  all  things  by  his  immortal  will,  and 
guide  them  at  his  pleasure. 

The  conservative  principle  of  all  truth  has  become 
so  firmly  established  in  the  world,  and  this  knowledge 
has  received  so  great  an  impulse,  that  it  will  doubtless 
progress  until  all  men  are  perfected  in  every  truth. 
It  may  be  checked  for  a  while,  amid  the  strife  and 
confusion  that  will  result  from  the  changes  that 
society  will  necessarily  pass  through,  but  we  have  no 
fears  of  any  permanent  delay  in  its  advancement. 

Every  fact  and  truth  thus  developed  is  a  clear  de- 


306  PHILOSOPHY    OF    REFOUM. 

monstration  of  the  almost  infinite  superiority  of  the 
inner  over  the  outward  man — the  mind  over  the  body. 
When  we  come  to  possess  a  full  knowledge  of  the 
real  worth  of  the  mind,  we  shall  cease  from  outward 
show,  and  spend  all  our  strength  in  beautifying  the 
inner  temple.  Not  only  this,  but  wTe  shall  cease  from 
the  employment  of  brute  force  in  the  governing  of 
men,,and  employ  only  those  means  that  can  reach  the 
intellect  and  heart.  Who  ever  dreamed  of  governing 
a  ship  but  with  its  helm  ?  and  who  will  ever  under- 
take to  direct  the  body  but  with  the  mind,  when  it 
has  become  so  far  developed  as  to  be  capable  of  this  ? 
A  people  in  ignorance  are  like  a  ship  without  a  helm, 
therefore  they  can  be  governed  only  as  we  govern  the 
brute,  but  not  so  an  educated  people. 

The  same  knowledge  will  also  have  a  tendency  to 
expand  our  vision,  and  thus  render  us  able  to  investi- 
gate and  comprehend  all  other  truth.  When  once 
the  mind  is  fully  developed,  it  is  capable  of  the  exa- 
mination of  any  subject.  This  we  might  expect.  Our 
moral  system,  and  all  our  schemes  and  plans  for 
human  improvement,  would  undergo  a  thorough  trial, 
and  be  remodeled  and  conformed  to  the  truth. 

Thus,  we  regard  the  prospects  of  the  department  of 
life  under  consideration  as  most  cheering.  Not  only 
do  we  look  for  perfection  here,  but  for  the  arts,  sciences 
and  literature  to  be  efficient  helpers  in  the  great  work 
of  the  world's  reformation. 

The  state  of  things  in  the  civil  world  is  no  less  in- 
teresting. It  is  strange  that  the  world,  with  an  expe- 
rience of  about  six  thousand  years,  has  only  just  begun 
to  learn  the  true  manner  of  governing  men.  Yet  our 
surprise  vanishes  when  we  understand  that  human 
governments  partake  of  the  nature  of  the  moral  system 


PROSPECTS    OP    THE    WORLD'S    REFORMATION.    307 

of  llu'  people,   ami    dial    tli.it    is  built    to   embodj 

out  nui  views  of  our  Maker.  Willi  a  knowledge 
of  i he  God  of  any  nation  we  can  easily  ascertain  the 
nature  of  then  civil  institutions,  and  with  a  knowledge 
of  the  people  themselves  we  can  readily  learn  the 
God  ;  that  is,  the  form  of  govern- 
ment that  man  adopts  for  himself  will  be  the  visible 
representation  of  the  One  by  which  the  inner  man  is 
governed.  We  shall  not,  therefore,  be  astonished  at 
the  slow  progress  of  human  governments  toward  per- 
fection, when  we  understand  the  necessarily  slow  work 
of  conforming  the  moral  being  to  the  truth. 

In  the  first  stages  of  civilization,  when  the  mind  is 
scarcely  visible  in  anything,  men  are  necessarily  treat- 
ed like  brutes.  In  proportion  as  the  mind  is  devel- 
oped, and  the  inner  man  begins  to  gain  ascendency 
over  the  outward,  human  governments  will  be  changed 
so  as  to  recognize  the  humanity  of  man.  Before,  how- 
ever, a  civil  government  can  be  perfect,  the  moral 
nature  of  man  must  be  so  developed  as  to  enforce  the 
obligation  to  obedience  that  arises  from  the  nature  of  the 
case  and  from  good  and  wholesome  laws.  Whene\  i  r 
the  intellect  is  so  developed  as  to  feel  its  true  superi- 
ority over  matter,  and  the  government  for  the  out- 
ward man  is  organized  accordingly,  while  the  moral 
sentiments  are  in  a  state  of  imbecile  weakness,  we 
must  expert  to  find  among  the  people  great  resile- 
and  lawlessness,  if  not  insurrection  and  anarchy. 

In  view  of  these  general  principles,  the  state  of  the 
civil  world  is  encouraging.  Those  nations  of  the 
earth  that  take  the  lead  in  every  department  of  life, 
have  proclaimed  t<»  the  world,  in  the  nature  of  their 
governments,  that  man  is  man — an  intellectual,  social, 
civil  and  moral  being,  as  well  as  physical.     Tyranny 


308  PHILOSOPHY    OF    REFORM. 

has  had  its  day :  it  has  been  cursed  and  trodden  under 
foot,  and  the  world  will  no  longer  suffer  its  existence. 
It  is  wonderful  how  rapidly  civil  truth  has  been  de- 
veloped and  established  within  seventy-five  years. 
Since  the  formation  of  our  own  republic,  no  less  than 
ten  of  the  monarchies  of  Europe  have  adopted  consti- 
tutions by  which  the  rulers  and  the  people  are  to  be 
governed.  Suppose  they  are  not  as  perfect  as  our 
own,  they  are  proof  of  the  conviction  of  the  world  that 
man  is  capable  of  self-government.  Other  nations 
must  follow  in  the  same  train.  Every  groan  of  the 
u  iron  horse,"  as  he  thunders  along  on  his  beaten 
track  is  the  mockery  of  Russia's  tyranny,  and  every 
bell  from  her  gallant  steamboats  a  peal  of  hope  to  the 
bondmen.  The  truth  that  has  been  introduced  into 
the  different  nations  of  the  earth,  by  means  of  the 
arts,  sciences  and  commerce,  will  as  truly  enlighten 
the  people,  and  ultimately  revolutionize  their  govern- 
ments, as  fire  will  burn  when  taken  into  our  bosom. 
The  great  increase  of  religious  truth,  also,  has  had 
the  same  influence  upon  the  world.  It  has  expanded 
the  heart  and  waked  up  thought,  and  caused  men  to 
feel  the  true  dignity  of  human  nature,  and  its  infinite 
remove  from  the  brute  creation.  Through  these  com- 
bined influences,  there  is  not  a  warlike  monarch  in 
the  world.  All  have  seen  the  advantage  of  peace, 
and  they  begin  to  feel  that  there  is  as  much  true  hero- 
ism in  contending  against  the  demons  of  the  inner 
man — idleness,  discord  and  injustice — as  in  dashing 
out  the  lives  of  men.  They  are  beginning  to  learn 
there  are  more  true  riches  in  their  own  native  soil,  and 
in  the  free  waters  of  their  running  streams,  than  can  be 
obtained  in  sacked  cities  and  depopulated  towns. 
This  knowledge  will  increase,  and  civil  governments 


PROSPECTS    OF    THE    WORLD'S    REFORMATION.    309 

will  be  reformed  or  revolun<>nr/< id,  until  every  nation 
shall  possess  a  perfect  human  government. 

The  great  brotherhood  of  man  has  been  established 
practically.  An  identity  of  interest  is  felt  among  all 
the  nations  of  the  earth.  From  henceforth  the  world 
moves  together  on  every  great  question.  The  isolation 
of  nations  has  been  broken  up,  and  the  prosperous  and 
happy  existence  of  each  one  depends,  in  a  great  de- 
gree, on  the  movements  of  the  others.  Commerce 
has  brought  the  whole  race  together,  and  religion, 
with  a  benignant  and  happy  smile,  has  introduced 
men  of  every  clime  and  color  to  each  other,  and  united 
their  hearts  and  hand>  m  indissoluble  bonds. 

This  is  a  great  advance  made.  It  was  not  so  among 
the  Romans,  the  first  people  who  wrought  out  the  idea 
of  universal  empire.  The  spirit  of  upity  was  wanting 
among  them.  The  different  parts  of  the  government 
were  held  together  by  force,  and,  although  it  embraced 
the  world,  men  felt  no  interest  in  anything  beyond 
the  affairs  of  their  own  city.  Neither  was  this  effected 
by  the  Crusades  and  the  Roman  Church.  Under  their 
influence,  however,  the  world  was  united  and  moved 
by  a  single  impulse,  as  it  never  had  been  done  before. 
Hut  the  union  was  merely  of  a  spiritual  character;  it 
was  not  occasioned  by  the  universal  consciousness  of 
the  manhood  of  the  race.  The  equality  of  man  as  a 
spiritual  being  was  partially  established,  while  his 
equality  as  a  civil,  social  and  intellectual  being  was 
not  dreamed  of.  It  has  required  ages  of  the  heaviest 
labor  and  severest  struggles  to  secure  this ;  but  it  is 
done,  and  the  different  nations  feel  themselves  mem- 
bers of  the  one  great  family  of  the  world.  The  pride 
and  ignorance  of  men  and  their  interested  rulers  may 
prevent  this  acknowledgment  at  once;  but  the  thun- 


310  PHILOSOPHY    OF    REFORM. 

dering  cannon  along  the  rivers  in  the  interior  of  the 
Celestial  Empire  will  compel  the  recognition  of  the 
sisterhood  of  nations,  though  it  be  done  with  a  bad 
grace. 

The  influence  of  this  glorious  state  of  things  is 
already  seen,  and  it  will  be  felt  to  a  far  greater  extent 
in  establishing  the  principles  of  peace  among  every 
people.  Who  will  dare  go  to  war  with  a  sister  nation, 
and  dash  out  the  life  of  his  own  brother'?  The  world 
has  learned  the  infinite  importance  of  being  peaceful 
and  quiet.  Even  now  we  have  no  great  fears  of  war 
between  any  prominent  nations,  and  these  know  too 
well  the  value  of  peace  to  have  it  disturbed  by  the 
contests  of  minor  ones.  The  nations  of  the  earth  are 
so  interlocked  already  in  every  interest,  that  a  disturb- 
ance in  any  portion  of  the  world  is  felt  in  every  remote 
corner.  Thus  interest  has  shut  them  up  within  their 
own  borders,  and  encouraged  them  to  develop  their 
own  inherent  resources.  The  acknowledgment  of 
others'  existence  will  also  cause  an  honorable  rivalry 
between  nations,  so  that  we  may  soon  expect  to  see 
them  vieing  with  each  other,  not  in  spilling  each 
other's  blood  and  dashing  out  each  other's  life,  but 
in  making  the  earth  more  fruitful  and  the  race  more 
blessed.  No  battle  will  ever  be  fought,  except  it  be 
with  the  foes  of  the  inner  man,  in  this  world,  after 
man  has  been  practically  acknowledged  to  be  man. 
Brutes  will  fight  each  other — so  will  brutish  men,  not 
real  men. 

The  pride  and  folly  of  those  nations,  whose  isolation 
and  ignorance  have  hitherto  made  them  arrogant,  will 
here  receive  a  severe  rebuke,  and  will  thus  be  com- 
pelled to  take  that  position  where  their  people  can  be 
instructed  and  civilized.     We  see  the  wisdom  of  Pro- 


PROSPECTS    OF    THE    WORLD'S    REFORMATION.    31 1 

\  idence  here.  Tin*  light  of  truth  has  Uvn  kept  within 
single  nations  for  ages,  increasing  in  brightness  and 
power,  until  the  brotherhood  of  the  race  should  be 
acknowledged.  It  could  noi  have  been  spread  through 
the  world,  unless  by  mtracnlnm  interposition,  befell 
1  lii-  was  gained.  How  was  it  possible  for  China  t<» 
receive  a  know  ledge  of  all  truth,  as  possessed  by  the 
Knglish  ami  Americans,  while  she  regarded  then  as 
heathen  and  herself  perfect  in  every  department  of 
lifel  Now  she,  with  other  nations,  will  receive  our 
teaching  and  become  fully  enlightened.  Providence 
has  been  preparing  these  nations,  whom  He  has  made 
the  receptacles  of  the  truth,  as  the  reservoirs  ot  flu 
world  from  which  are  now  flowing  out  the  pure  waters 
of  life,  irrigating  and  refreshing  every  portion.  In 
this  respect  the  present  is  different  from  all  other  timet 
In  former  ages  man  could  speak  but  to  a  single  city  m 
nation;  now  he  speaks  to  the  world.  We  are  now 
world's  men,  and  the  slightest  whisper  is  almost  in- 
stantly heard  in  the  remotest  corner.  What  encour- 
agement for  noble  labors  and  heroic  deeds. 

The  world  will  never  be  moved  again  by  small  ideas. 
Indeed,  it  never  has  been;  small  portions  of  it  may 
have  been,  but  the  world  itself  is  too  great  to  be  influ- 
enced by  other  than  great  ideas.  It  has  been  awaked 
to  life,  and  may  now  be  said  to  be  sensitively  alive  in 
every  part.  It  has  no  ear  to  hear  narrow-minded 
questions  of  party  interest  and  strife,  but  all  such  as 
relate  to  the  improvement  and  comfort  of  the  race, 
produce  a  vibration  that  is  felt  in  every  portion.  He 
who  speaks  to  the  world  will  be  heard  from  hence- 
forth, while  his  voice  in  advocating  any  petty  enter- 
prise will  be  stifled  by  the  consciousness  of  the  littleness 
of  the  work. 
14 


312  PHILOSOPHY   OF    REFORM. 

This  is  destined  to  call  out  the  true  heroism  of  our 
nature.  It  stirs  up  great  and  pure  thoughts  and  feel- 
ings. It  elevates  man  in  his  own  soul,  and  prepares 
him  for  great  and  noble  deeds.  We  look  for  men  to 
come  forth  upon  this  arena,  girt  about  with  truth,  and 
towering  in  majesty  and  true  dignity  far  above  the  he- 
roes of  former  ages.  Man  is  capable  of  far  greater 
deeds  than  formerly,  owing  to  his  superior  develop- 
ment, and  here  is  an  occasion  every  way  sufficient  to 
call  them  forth  ;  therefore,  when  we  have  learned  that 
true  greatness  consists  in  being  a  man  and  feeling  it, 
and  not  in  abjuring  our  humanity?  and  imitating  the 
tiger  in  his  fierce  contest,  upon  the  battle-field,  they 
will  be  done. 

There  is  something  elevating  and  purifying  in  great 
thoughts  and  great  deeds.  Here,  then,  we  may  expect 
to  find  a  cause  for  the  destruction  of  that  narrow-minded 
selfishness  that  has  characterized  the  policy  of  every 
nation,  and  been  so  great  a  hindrance  to  the  progress 
of  civilization.  Under  the  powerful  influence  of  world- 
ism,  partyism  will  be  withered  and  destroyed.  Men 
will  be  turned  away  from  such  contemptible  work  to 
legislate  for  their  country,  to  beautify  and  enrich  it, 
for  the  purpose  of  securing  the  first  premium  in  the 
world's  fair.  When  our  statesmen  have  learned  the 
folly  of  war,  and  the  greatness  of  man,  and  when  they 
feel  the  conscious  greatness  that  ivorldism  alone  can 
inspire,  we  shall  then  have  specimens  of  oratory  that 
will  honor  the  world,  and  be  worthy  of  being  preserved 
in  letters  of  gold. 

In  the  view  of  one  truly  inspired  with  the  pure  prin- 
ciples of  the  gospel  and  love  for  the  whole  world,  how 
contemptible  this  strife  for  sect  appears.  He  is  lifted 
above  such  narrow-minded  bigotry,  and  he  breathes 


PROSPECTS    OF    THE    WORLD'S    REFOl 


full  and  free  in  his  high  and  holy  elcvatu 
bands  of  sects  are  already  weakening.  They  air  IB* 
tained  more  by  the  individual  interest  of  the  leaien 
than  by  the  conviction  of  tin  truth.  The  prominent 
evangelical  religious  denominations  hold  to  tho  same 
fundamental  doctrines.  Why,  therefore,  these  divi- 
sions  and  alienations  of  folly?  It  is  surprising  and 
strange  they  should  exist  an  hour.  They  must  and 
will  unite.  Their  existence  is  at  war  with  the  spirit  of 
the  times.  The  world  needs  and  demands  a  system 
that  shall  be  in  accordance  with  the  Catholicism  of  tfcf 
gospel,  and  that  will  give  full  play  to  the  desires  of  a 
pure  heart  panting  for  the  good  of  the  whole  world. 
The  day  of  sects  is  nearly  gone  by.  Our  being  is  too 
far  developed  to  respond  to  their  call,  and  we  are  be- 
ginning to  have  no  disposition  or  patience  to  listen  to 
anything  that  does  not  intimately  concern  the  whole 
race. 

To  the  views  advanced  in  the  preceding  chapters,  it 
may  be  supposed  that  the  state  of  things  in  the  East, 
and  in  Asia  in  particular,  presents  an  insurmountable 
objection.  We  admit  that  civilization  has  rather  been 
retrograding  than  advancing  in  most  of  the  kingdoms 
of  Asia,  for  the  last  thousand  years.  The  present  state 
of  things  is  more  encouraging.  By  taking  down  our 
map  and  glancing  over  the  countries  of  the  East,  we 
have  been  struck  with  the  great  number  of  European 
possessions  in  that  part  of  the  world.  A  bare  enu- 
meration may  not  be  uninteresting,  and  it  will  be  im- 
portant to  our  argument. 

1.  The  Spaniards  possess  the  Philippine  Isles. 

2.  The  Portuguese  claim  the  possessions  of  Goa, 
Damaun  and  Diu  in  India,  and  Macao  in  China. 

3.  The  Dutch  possess  the  island  of  Java  and  the 


314  PHILOSOPHY    OF    REFORM. 

Spice  Islands.     They  claim  Borneo,  and  have  settle- 
ments on  the  coast  of  Sumatra. 

4.  The  French  own  the  settlements  of  Pondicherry, 
Mahe  and  Chandemagore  in  India,  and  the  Isle  of 
Bourbon  in  the  Indian  Ocean. 

5.  The  Danes  have  in  India  the  settlements  Tran- 
quebar  and  Serampore. 

6.  Russia  extends  her  authority  over  the  whole  of 
Northern  Asia. 

7.  England  controls  the  whole  of  India.  She  holds 
possession  of  the  Mauritius,  Ceylon  and  various  prov- 
inces and  islands  east  of  Bengal. 

8.  The  Mahometan  governments  are  Turkey,  Per- 
sia, Khiva,  Bokhara  and  Cabul,  and  the  government 
of  the  Imaum  of  Muscat  on  the  coast  of  Arabia. 

9.  Those  governments  that  are  of  the  Buddhist  reli- 
gion are  China  with  its  dependencies ;  Thibet,  Corea, 
Japan,  Bhootan,  Cochin-China,  Siam  and  Burmah. 

Here,  then,  we  have  a  greater  portion  of  the  Eastern 
world  before  us.  It  requires  no  very  close  investiga- 
tion, to  perceive  the  vast  influence, Europe  has  over 
this  portion  of  the  world. 

Let  us  look  at  England,  and  examine  her  influence 
alone  in  the  Eastern  world.  About  three  hundred 
years  ago,  she  sent  out  a  few  traders,  who  petitioned 
the  chief  of  the  Moguls  for  permission  to  trade  in  his 
dominions.  Now  she  controls  all  India.  Her  standing 
army  numbers  150,000  troops,  and  her  population 
123,000,000;  and  the  square  miles  of  her  territory, 
1,111,162.  She  is  thus  well  protected  and  able  to  sus- 
tain her  permanent  ascendency  there.  In  the  late 
war  with  China,  she  has  broken  her  slumbers  and 
brought  her  millions  within  the  reach  of  the  civilized 
world.     Look  also  at  her  colonies  on  the  Australian 


PROSPECTS    OF    THE    WORLD'S    REFORMATION.    315 

Continent,  in  Van  Dieman's  L;ui«i,  and  m  llu-  Island 
of  N.  \\  Zealand.  These  settlements  are  destined  to 
exert  a  vast  iniluenre  in  the  Stst  When  they  shall 
become  independent  governments,  how  natural  to 
spread  over  the  whole  of  Australia  ;  and  the  islands  be- 
tween  the  American  and  Asiatic  Continents,  must  also 
be  civilized  by  the  same  means. 

America,  too,  has  influence  in  that  part  of  the  world. 
Her  fleet  ships  tra\  erse  every  sea,  and  her  enterprising 
inhabitants  have  their  representatives  in  every  port  in 
the  earth.  We  are  aiding  by  our  commerce,  our  in- 
ventions, manufactures,  and  even  "  Yankee  notions" 
to  spread  the  light  of  civilization  in  every  iand. 

With  these  facts  before  us,  who  will  doubt  one  mo- 
ment that  China  and  all  the  Eastern  world  will  soon 
be  brought  under  the  influence  of  civilization  1  What 
a  tremendous  power  England  alone  has  over  the  na- 
tions of  the  East !  The  commerce  of  England  and 
America  alone,  with  its  natural  increase,  will  force 
open  every  port,  town  and  city  of  the  old  world,  and, 
if  in  no  other  way,  their  stamped  cotton  goods  shall 
be  messengers  from  the  Almighty  to  awaken  their 
dreaming,  ignorant  minds. 

Why  is  it  that  these  nations  have  remained  com- 
paratively stationary  for  so  many  centuries?  Why 
have  they  not  made  the  same  progress  in  civilization 
as  other  nations  1  The  answer  is  soon  given.  They 
were  established,  and  have  been  governed,  by  the 
sword.  Their  religion  has  been  a  part  of  their  civil 
government,  and  it  is  propagated  and  defended  by 
the  sword.  Besides,  from  the  beginning,  there  has 
been  nothing  to  awaken  thought  and  expand  the 
mind,  and  hence,  men  have  not  felt  the  need  of  any- 
thing more  than  what  they  have  enjoyed.     The  very 


316  PHILOSOPHY    OF    REFORM. 

first  principles  of  progressiveness,  as  we  have  described 
them,  do  not  exist  there  ;  and  it  has  been  their  policy 
to  keep  isolated  from  the  whole  world,  while  their  cli- 
mate, habits  and  languages  have  favored  them  in  this 
thing,  so  that  it  has  not  been  possible  to  introduce 
them  there.  But  now  the  race  is  brought  together, 
and  those  old  nations  have  been  compelled  to  acknow- 
ledge the  sisterhood  of  kingdoms,  so  that  they  are  now 
beginning  to  feel  the  need  of  an  alliance  with  the  rest 
of  the  world. 

It  was  different  with  the  civilization  of  Europe  and 
America.  They  possess  the  principle  of  progressive- 
ness. Those  Luther  reformations  and  French  revolu- 
tions broke  up  the  old  immobility  scheme,  and  intro- 
duced the  spirit  of  life  into  society.  Banish  from 
European  and  American  civilization  the  conservative 
principle  of  the  world,  and  they  too  would  be,  as  the 
nations  of  Asia  have  ever  been,  dead  and  retrograding. 

England  and  America,  France  and  Germany,  have 
the  control  of  this  world.  They  hold  its  destiny. 
They  are  battering  away  at  the  old  institutions  of  the 
Eastern  world.  The  walls  begin  to  tremble.  The 
light  of  heaven  will  soon  be  let  in  upon  that  ignorant, 
putrid  mass,  and  a  revolution  in  every  department 
of  life  will  take  place.  The  prospects  were  never 
more  cheering. 

The  state  of  things  in  Europe  was  never  so  inter- 
esting as  at  the  present  moment.  We  have  abundant 
proof  of  the  rapid  progress  of  civilization  in  that  part  of 
the  world.  It  is  not  seventy-five  years  since  it  was 
impossible  to  find  a  good  road  upon  the  Continent  of 
Europe  ;  even  Bonaparte  had  to  make  his  own  roads, 
and  as  a  general  thing  cut  his  own  way  from  country 
to  country.     But  now  they  may  be  seen  in  every  di- 


PROSPECTS   OF    THE    WORLD'S    REFORMATION.    317 

rection,  in  every  nation.     Steamboats  and  railroads 
have  been  multiplied  within  a  few  years  post  with 

astonishing  rapidity.      Education   has   begun   to  p«-ne- 
trate  fhc   BUM  of  the    people,  and   in  many  kingdoms 

u  regular  system  has  been  adopted.  Humane  institu- 
tu>ns  arc  everywhere  established,  and  the  poor,  1  In- 
deaf,  and  the  insane  are  treated  with  care.  There, 
are  no  less  than  twelve  constitutional  monarchies  on 
1  ho  Continent,  when  there  were  but  one  or  two  fifty 
years  ago.  The  character  of  the  rules  of  the  sjb 
Into  monarchs  has  greatly  improved,  so  that  now  u 
may  be  said,  there  is  not  a  warlike  prince  in  all  Eu- 
rope.  Tins  has  been  caused  from  necessity,  for  Un- 
people are  advancing;  and,  to  hold  their  crowns,  tin- 
rulers  must  take  the  lead  in  every  movement  for  tin- 
improvement  of  the  people.  The  pure  religion  of 
the  gospel  is,  also,  rapidly  spreading  in  every  direc- 
tion. There  is  hope,  then,  for  Europe.  Her  people 
are  improving  in  everything.  They  must  be  free,  for 
the  arts  and  sciences  and  the  pure  principles  of  the 
gospel  that  are  introduced  among  them  will  expand 
their  minds,  and  teach  them  that  they  an-  men. 

Another  cheering  prospect  of  the  times  is  the  fact  of 
the  introduction  of  the  gospel  into  every  portion  of  the 
world.  The  unpathed  wilderness  has  been  entered 
and  surveyed,  and  settlements,  here  and  there,  have 
been  made,  in  every  hitherto  dark  corner  of  the.  earth. 
The  good  seed  has  been  scattered,  has  taken  root, 
sprung  up,  and  is  already  bearing  rich  fruit.  The 
energies  of  the  whole  Christian  world  are  engaged  in 
this  work.  Wealth,  prayers,  tears,  and  holy  hearts 
ore  brought  to  the  altar,  and  there  consecrated.  The 
cost  has  been  wisely  counted,  the  decision  intelligently 
made,  and  the  resources  are  abundant.     The  provi- 


318  PHILOSOPHY    OF    REFORM. 

dence  of  God  favors  the  work.  He  beckons  the  Chris- 
tian on,  by  pointing  to  the  wounds  of  the  Saviour. 
His  heart  bleeds,  his  eye  weeps,  and  he  breathes  the 
spirit  of  love,  compassion  and  decision  into  them. 

With  these  facts  before  us,  tell  me :  will  not  the 
truth  conquer  in  the  East,  and  everywhere  1  Are  not 
the  firm  foundations  of  those  old  established  institutions 
that  have  stood  the  siege  of  time  for  thousands  of  years 
beginning  to  tremble  ?  True  religion  is  like  fire  shut 
up  in  their  bones.  Once  established,  and  though  the 
bodies  of  the  saints  are  burned  and  their  ashes  scattered 
upon  the  sea,  it  cannot  be  rooted  out.  It  will  expand 
the  hearts  of  the  people.  It  will  make  them  feel  the 
need  of  what  they  have  never  yet  possessed.  Mine  after 
mine  of  rich  truth  will  be  discovered.  Nature  will  de- 
mand her  wants  supplied,  and  they  will  be,  even  should 
it  require  a  universal  explosion,  in  good  French  revolu- 
tion style,  through  all  the  Eastern  world.  Each  nation 
will  then  be  required  to  advance,  through  the  regular 
steps  of  civilization,  on  towards  perfection.  Ages  may 
pass  away  before  all  this  is  accomplished,  yet  it  will 
be  done,  in  time,  for  this  is  our  Maker's  decree. 

In  all  ages  of  the  world,  in  the  history  of  every  peo- 
ple in  their  progress  in  civilization,  the  same  scenes 
have  been  acted  over.  The  systems  of  men  have  been 
broken  up,  and  then  followed  confusion  and  chaos. 
Soon  some  idea  would  spring  up  more  truthful  than 
any  hitherto  advanced,  apparently  the  whole  truth, 
because  the  thick  darkness  precluded  the  possibility  of 
seeing  what  lay  beyond.  This  embraced,  and  the  world 
would  settle  down  in  regularity  and  peace,  expecting 
and  needing  nothing  more  than  the  universal  spread 
of  this  truth  over  the  earth.  Other  truths  have  been 
developed  by  the  providence  of  God,  and   then  this 


PROSPECTS    OF    THK    WoKLD'S    REFORMATION     gig 

system,  by  their  op  lias  been  broken  up,  and  n 

similar  process  is  gone  through  with,  and  the  WUM  i« 
suits  have  followed.     Each  movement  has  done  good 
and  advanced  the  world  in  her  great  journey. 

We  are  now,  as  we  have  seen,  in  a  broken-up  state, 
but  seeking  a  permanent  regularity.  The  commotion 
and  chaos  embraces  the  whole  world  and  Church.  It 
is  somewhat  doubtful  whether  the  next  level  the  world 
obtains  will  be  the  summit  level,  so  that  it  can  float  on 
regularly  and  harmoniously  into  the  haven  of  rest; 
but  suppose  it  is  not,  suppose  we  do  listen  to  the  syren, 
and  settle  down  into  a  cold,  formal  and  regular  sys- 
tt 'in.  every  movement  will  only  prove  to  the  world 
that  though  stability  is  obtained,  it  is  the  quiet  repose 
of  death,  the  steadiness  of  a  ship  in  a  calm — a  motion- 
less regularity.  This  would  not  be  received,  for  the 
world  demands  a  peace  that  combines  activity  with 
safely.  The  world  has  set  in  judgment  upon  such  a 
state  of  things,  the  verdict  has  been  given,  and  the 
sentence  pronounced  and  once  executed.  Who  will 
dare  again  outrage  the  good  sense  of  the  world.  Let 
it  be  undertaken ;  the  reaction  that  would  be  produced 
would  send  its  earthquake  shock  through  the  world 
that  would  wake  the  very  dead.  The  curses  of  our 
fathers  and  our  fathers'  children  be  upon  him — the 
curse  of  our  fathers'  God  would  destroy  him  who  should 
be  thus  presumptuous.  It  is  evident,  therefore,  that 
the  prospects  of  the  world's  thorough  reformation  were 
never  so  bright  as  at  the  present  day. 

In  the  management  of  affairs  for  almost  six  thousand 
years,  Providence  has  secured  to  the  cause  of  truth  a 
permanent  establishment  in  the  world.  The  enemy  of 
truth  will  be  taken  in  his  own  net.  His  own  plans  and 
schemes  shall  work  his  own  destruction.  The  wrath 
14» 


320  PHILOSOPHY    OF    REFORM. 

of  man  has  been  made  to  praise  him — every  move- 
ment  has  been  overruled  for  good.  Let  the  enemy  of 
truth  drive  the  Puritans  from  their  homes  and  their 
fathers'  sepulchres,  they  shall  be  guided  by  the  hand  of 
Infinite  Wisdom  to  the  land  of  the  free.  Yes,  these 
pilgrim  fathers  may  be  scattered  and  driven  from  their 
native  land,  but  it  shall  be  overruled  and  caused  to 
sow  the  seed  of  truth  where  otherwise  thorns  and  briars 
would  have  grown.  Let  England  conquer  in  war  the 
nations  of  the  East  for  the  sole  purpose  of  extending 
her  commerce,  it  shall  be  made  the  means  of  civilizing 
and  Christianizing  them.  As  we  said,  we  expect  the 
war  of  the  elements  has  not  yet  reached  its  height — that 
it  will  increase  in  fierceness  and  wildness,  but  we  have 
no  cause  for  fear.  When  those  old  institutions  of  the 
East  shall  fall,  and  fall  they  will  soon,  a  commotion, 
such  as  the  world  has  never  seen,  will  be  the  result — 
but  be  not  afraid.  Truth  has  nothing  to  fear.  It  can 
stand  the  action  of  all  the  elements — the  fiercest  fire 
cannot  affect  it. 


CHAPTER   XIII 


OUR   DUTIES. 


Duty  defined— Daly  of  the  Church— Duties  of  Ministers  of  the  Gospel— 
•  Duties  of  Christians— The  Duty  of  Statesmen— Education— Duty  of 
Literary  Men— Duty  of  Citizens— Recapitulation— Conclusion. 

Here  are  a  number  of  interesting  facts  spread  out 
in  order  upon  the  student's  table,  which,  like  the 
richest  gems,  have  been  obtained  in  the  deepest  mines 
by  long  and  severe  labor.  Men  have  named  them  the 
axle,  the  wheel,  the  lever,  steel  and  its  elasticity,  &c; 
and  they  now  claim  his  most  profound  attention.  For 
days  and  months  he  is  lost  to  the  busy  world  around 
him.  His  attention  is  riveted  to  these  facts,  while  his 
mind — that  far-seeing,  invisible  something — is  taxed 
to  that  degree  that  its  tabernacle  becomes  pale  and 
feeble,  in  creating  a  machine  out  of  these  few  "  laws 
of  things."  Soon  the  spell  is  broken,  the  countenance 
and  whole  appearance  is  changed  to  cheerfulness. 
Why  should  he  not  be  joyous,  while  he  holds  up  to 
the  astonished  multitude  a  beautiful  and  nicely  wrought 
watch? 

We  call  this  man  an  inventor  ;  but  his  more  appro- 
priate name  is  hard  student,  sometimes  called  Genius. 

That  watch  is  made  up  of  several  parts,  each  one 
nicely  fitted  to  its  place  and  its  particular  function  as- 
signed it,  and  the  whole  moved  by  the  "  main  spring  " 
in  a  regular  and  harmonious  manner.     The  power  of 


322  PHILOSOPHY    OF    REFORM. 

the  whole  machine  is  in  that  steel  spring — it  is  the 
heart  that  is  constantly  pressing  every  part  to  do  its 
work.  Tongueless,  not  fingerless,  it  points  out  the 
"  time  o'  day  " — this  is  its  object.  Between  these  two 
extremes,  as  we  have  said,  there  are  various  wheels, 
springs,  &c,  and  it  is  now  evident  they  are  intended 
to  serve  as  checks,  balances  and  regulators  for  the 
purpose  of  taking  up  the  power  that  is  constantly  ger- 
minated by  the  spring  and  applying  it  to  the  "  hands" 
of  the  watch,  just  so  regularly  and  in  just  such  propor- 
tions as  shall  move  them  over  a  given  space  in  a  given 
time. 

Great  indeed,  as  great  as  the  greatest,  is  that  man 
who  can  give  life  to  the  dead — that  can  harness  down 
those  facts  and  place  them  in  full  gear  in  the  belfry, 
where,  by  day  and  night,  uncomplainingly,  silent  and 
faithful,  and  true  as  the  sun,  they  point  out  to  the 
whole  city  each  hour  of  the  day. 

Is  there  not  a  duty,  or  office,  for  each  one  of  these 
several  parts  of  this  machine  1  and  is  not  each  one's 
work  peculiar  to  itself,  and  does  not  the  peculiar  rela- 
tion each  part  sustains  to  the  rest  require  the  very  work 
it  renders  ?  With  this  knowledge,  we  are  able  to  say 
what  portion  of  the  work  of  the  watch  belongs  to  each 
part;  and,  therefore,  we  may  hope  to  keep  each  one 
in  its  place  and  make  it  work  well. 

Duty  is  something  to  be  done.  This  implies  the 
existence  and  ability  of  an  agent  to  perform  it. 

This  world  is  a  great  watch.  Each  man  has  his 
place  in  the  machinery ;  and  it  would  be  well  if  each 
one  kept  his  place.  But  each  part  of  this  living  ma- 
chine is  also  alive,  and,  having  full  power  over  itself, 
it  depends  on  the  will  whether  his  work  is  found  and 
performed. 


OUR    DUTIES. 

Since  man  has  become  almost  mum  less,  and  deaf 
to  the  voice  of  truth,  how  may  he  find  his  place  and 
keep  it?  What  evidence  is  at  his  command  that  will 
convince  him  he  is  in  (lie  true  path,  when  he  is  in 
(lined  to  search  for  it?  The  object  of  that  clock  is  to 
point  out  the  hours  of  the  day.  Everything,  therefore, 
that  pertains  to  it  must  be  conformed  to  thai  object ; 
and  whatever  is  introduced,  be  it  a  wheel,  balance  or 
weight,  that  does  not,  in  its  place  and  in  its  way,  con- 
tribute its  full  share,  is  removed,  or  altered  until  tins 
point  is  gained.  The  Bible  has  saved  us  the  trouble 
of  demonstrating  what  the  object  of  man  should  be. 
We  may  say,  however,  it  is  quite  evident,  from  his 
nature,  he  was  created  for  a  certain  position  in  tin- 
scale  of  being.  Of  course,  he  may  be  well  fitted  for 
that  station,  and  when  there  he  is  happy  and  true  in 
the  highest  possible  degree.  The  whole  of  this  moral 
machine  is  deranged,  and  each  part  out  of  its  place ; 
hut  means  have  been  employed  to  bring  the  whole  to 
rights,  and  we  therefore  conclude  that  every  tiling 
tends  to  that  point.  There  is  this  world's  place,  and 
it  will  find  it,  and  its  highest  good  will  be  secured. 
Here,  then,  is  the  object — 'to  bring  the  world  back  to 
its  right  place  in  the  universe,  or  to  elevate  man  to 
his  proper  position  in  the  scale  of  being.  The  great 
wheel  to  which  every  other  part  of  the  machinery  is 
geared  is  the  principle  of  benevolence ;  that  is,  when 
men  are  governed  by  this  principle  in  every  department 
of  life,  the  great  object  for  which  we  were  created  is 
gained.  With  our  eye  on  this  object,  we  may  readily 
perceive  when  we  are  engaged  in  the  true  work ;  for 
all  is  right  when  it  naturally  conduces  in  the  highest 
degree  to  secure  it. 

Our  duty,  therefore,  is  that  which,  from  the  circum- 


324  PHILOSOPHY    OF    REFORM. 

stances  and  relations  in  which  we  are  placed,  will  best 
secure  the  object  of  our  being.  Each  station,  situation 
and  relation  requires  or  imposes  peculiar  duties.  A 
man  may  be  set  down  in  some  particular  part  of  a 
wilderness  while  his  home  remains  stationary;  the 
direction  of  his  journey  will,  therefore,  be  far  different 
than  were  he  placed  in  some  other  portion  of  the  forest. 
We  are  wise  men  and  true,  if,  with  this  object  in  view, 
we  find  our  whereabouts  in  this  world,  and  lay  our 
course  directly  to  the  temple  of  Truth. 

Think  it  not,  therefore,  too  hard  upon  thee,  friend, 
when  we  call  thee  foolish,  more  so  than  the  child,  for 
supposing  there  is  no  path  of  safety  but  that  of  our 
fathers.  Our  fathers  did  well,  but  they  started  from 
a  different  portion  of  the  world  from  that  we  chance 
to  occupy.  It  is  worse  than  folly,  it  is  madness,  to 
strive  to  bring  the  world  back  to  any  particular  situa- 
tion or  position  of  former  times.  This  is  not  our  work. 
Yonder  is  our  object :  push  the  world  up  and  onward 
to  that  position.  Take  the  world  as  it  is,  and  march 
right  on  thy  way.  Oh,  do  not  spend  thy  precious 
time  in  fruitless  search  and  forced  marches  to  find  thy 
father's  path !  This  is  thine — follow  that,  and  rapidly. 
Spend  not  thy  time,  either,  in  devising  plans  and 
measures  to  save  labor  and  help  thee  on  thy  journey. 
Try  it,  and  thou  wilt  signally  fail.  Labor  and  love  it. 
Haste  thee  in  thine  own  path  earnestly.  Strive  to 
bring  thyself  and  neighbor  to  the  world's  home  in  a 
direct  line.  Divest  thy  labor  of  all  romance,  and  work 
solidly,  surely  and  faithfully. 

But  these  are  general  statements.  What  is  this  and 
that  man's  duty  in  the  times  in  which  we  live  ?  What 
do  "  the  times  "  demand  of  each  one? 


OUR  DUTIES.  ;i  k, 

THE  DUTY  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

Our  definition  and  views  of  the  Church,  given  ma 
former  chapter,  need  not  here  he  repeated.  In  the 
present  state  of  affairs,  what  is  the  duty  of  the  Church, 
or  wliat  is  her  work  and  her  portion?  There  is 
much  important  and  true  meaning  in  the  common 
and  vulgar  saying,  "  mind  your  business ;"  and  we 
doubt  that  it  has  ever.  I>een  applied  to  any  man  or  set 
of  men  with  more  appropriateness  and  truthfulness 
than  to  die  Church  at  the  present  day.  We  would 
say,  therefore,  to  the  Church,  distinctly,  "  mind  your 
business."  Here  is  thy  work,  here  is  thy  object. 
Strive,  in  the  way  marked  down  before  thee,  turning 
not  to  the  right  or  left,  and  gain  that.  March  right 
on  earnestly  with  thine  eye  on  the  Cross,  and  should  the 
journey  be  but  half  completed  when  thy  body  sinks 
down  into  the  grave,  thy  place  in  the  ranks  shall  be 
filled  with  a  new  generation  of  saints,  and  thou  hast 
done  well. 

Let  the  Church  neglect  her  own  work,  and  she  not 
only  unfits  herself  for  efficient  action,  but  she  is  pre- 
paring herself  to  become  the  prey  of  every  enemy  ;  for 
in  this  way,  her  ranks  are  broken  and  scattered,  her 
walls  of  defence  destroyed,  and  therefore,  when  she 
would  contend  for  the  truth,  she  has  neither  courage 
nor  strength.  Her  own  members  may  engage  with 
commendable  zeal  in  every  modern  moral  enterprise,  not 
as  members  of  the  Church,  but  of  voluntary  associa- 
tions, and  some  good  may  be  secured,  but,  as  we  have 
seen,  the  object  of  the  society  cannot  be  gained  ;  and 
when  the  world  in  despair  shall  turn  to  the  Church 
for  that  which  is  indispensable  to  its  virtuous  existence, 
and  which  she  alone  can  give,  it  will  be  found  that  the 


326  PHILOSOPHY    OF    REFORM. 

Church,  having  been  divorced  from  her  appropriate 
work,  and  in  a  heartless  routine  of  unnecessary  cere- 
monies so  long,  has  become  weak  and  powerless,  and 
therefore  unable  to  do  that  which  is  demanded  in  the 
emergency.  We  will  not  attempt  to  predict  what 
would  be  the  result  of  this  state  of  things,  but  we  may 
be  allowed  to  suggest  our  fears  that  not  only  the  French 
people,  but  the  entire  world,  would  rise  en  masse  and 
denounce  the  Church  in  unmeasured  tones  and  scatter 
her  to  the  winds.  We  say,  then,  again  to  the  Church, 
"  mind  your  work  and  ye  need  not  fear." 

Another  evident  and  all-important  duty  is,  the  cul- 
tivation of  practical  piety.  There  is  great  danger,  in 
the  present  state  of  things,  of  losing  sight  of  this 
duty.  Our  Churches  make  good  professions,  but  we 
fear  they  are  losing  sight  of  personal  holiness.  There 
are  evidently  attainments  in  holiness  that  we  have 
scarcely  yet  dreamed  of.  There  is  a  point  in  the  spir- 
itual life  that  we  may  gain  in  this  world  and,  if  so, 
all  the  necessary  means  have  been  provided.  But 
what  Church  is  constant  and  inflexible  in  enforcing 
upon  the  members  the  duty  of  attaining  this  state? 
What  Church  makes  the  want  of  holiness,  in  the  ab- 
sence of  any  violation  of  its  rules,  a  disciplinable  of- 
fence ?  Where  can  we  find  such  breathing  and  pant- 
ing for  holiness  of  heart,  as  was  evident  in  the  primi- 
tive Church  ?  Now  the  mere  profession  and  form  of 
religion  cannot  save  us.  However  popular  it  may 
have  become  in  certain  portions  of  Zion,  and  however 
strong  the  tendency,  in  the  same  direction,  may  be  in 
other  portions  to  discard  pure,  simple  piety  and  defend 
a  more  genteel  and  refined  religion,  it  should  be  re- 
membered that  the  true  system  will  not  be  changed  to 
gatify  these  would-be-directors  in  the  world's  reform  a- 


OUR    DUTlEa 


801 


i ion,  hut  they  may  be  left  to  become  filled  with  their 
own  ways,  and  thus  made  the  agents  of  their  own  de- 
struction. If  vital  religion  is  the  world's  ronsnvativr 
principle,  and  if  tin*  Church  was  organized  to  keep  it 
alive  and  carry  it  out  in  all  the  world,  it  follows,  by 
all  that  is  great  and  good,  by  all  that  is  sacred  in 
heaven  and  valuable  on  earth,  that  the  Church  is 
bound  to  insist  on  and  cultivate  pure  religion.  We 
are  a  dead  world  soon,  if  this  old  path  is  not  returned 
to  and  followed.  The  voice  of  warning  can  be  heard, 
for  the  cost  of  listening,  to  beware  lest  we  become 
swamped  in  a  ceremonious  and  dead  religion.  We 
can  heed  it,  or  not,  as  we  like ;  but  nature  wiJl  have 
her  own  way  and  we  shall  be  drifted  upon  the  rocks  of 
ruin  and  destroyed.  Let  us  beware  of  that  charmer  ;  she 
holds  out  her  glittering  wares  and  makes  fair  promises, 
but  the  coil  of  death  is  beneath  her  cloak,  with  which 
si  ir  will  bind  us  fast  and  lead  us  willing  captives  to  the 
altar  on  which  true  religion  is  sacrificed. 

In  what  time  of  the  world's  history  was  the  Church 
ever  called  on  more  imperiously  to  be  strong  in  the 
right  than  at  the  present?  What  good,  pray,  can  she 
hope  to  accomplish  with  an  undecided,  vacillating  and 
ever-changing  character  ?  And  how  shall  decision  and 
firmness,  mingled  with  humility  and  kindness,  be  ob- 
tained, otherwise  than  in  a  conscious  uprightness  of 
heart,  and  in  the  smiles  of  Heaven  ?  This,  and  this 
only,  is  able  to  stay  the  Church  up  strong  and  unyield- 
ing. The  time  is  fast  coming  when  men  cannot,  as 
formerly,  be  held  up  by  the  power  of  sect.  The  sects 
must  and  will  be  tried.  Every  species  of  error  and 
delusion  is  springing  up  in  their  very  midst.  Anarchy, 
cruel  and  relentless,  is  already  raging  in  some  commu- 
nions.    The  moral  world  is  rocking  and  swelling  al- 


328  PHILOSOPHY    OF    REFORM. 

most  to  bursting",  as  under  a  mighty  earthquake,  and 
that  Church  which  is  not  built  on  the  truth  will  be 
overthrown.  The  storm  is  not  yet  at  its  height. 
What  hope,  then,  for  those  who  have  not  the  strength 
of  right  and  truth  to  outride  the  gale  and  gain  the  port 
of  peace  securely  1  No !  they  will  not  attempt  to 
breast  the  current,  but  fall  in  and  drift  upon  its  rushing 
tide.  The  world  begins  to  feel  its  need  of  a  Church 
that  will  stand  firm  as  a  lighthouse  on  the  everlasting 
rocks,  while  the  waves  of  error  dash  harmless  at  its 
base— a  Church  that  will  move  forward  in  the  path  of 
truth  regardless  of  consequences.  Who,  but  such  a 
people,  can  stay  successfully  the  rushing  world,  as  it 
rolls  on,  boiling,  raging  and  thundering  towards  the 
gulf  of  despair. 

We  say  again,  of  the  thousand  duties  that  any  time 
demands  of  the  Church,  and  which,  therefore,  need 
not  here  be  mentioned,  that  of  taking  the  Bible,  and 
that  only,  as  our  rule  and  guide,  and  pressing  on  by 
its  light,  is  the  most  important.  This  is  the  only  in- 
fallible rule  and  guide.  In  this  we  are  all  agreed  theo- 
retically, but  are  we  practically  1  Might  it  not  be  well 
to  inquire  how  far  we  rely  on  our  creeds,  and  confes- 
sion, and  articles,  as  guides,  as  rules  of  faith  and  prac- 
tice 1  Suppose  they  do  contain  nothing  but  what  is 
found  in  the  Bible,  is  it  not  possible  for  them  to  pos- 
sess more  authority  over  us  than  the  Scriptures,  as 
such ;  and,  therefore,  we  quote  them  as  canons  of  our 
Church,  and  feel  satisfied  when  we  have  obeyed  them'? 
If  so,  how  easy,  comparatively,  to  receive  as  binding 
and  sacred  whatever  other  enactments  the  Church  will 
be  sure  to  make  ? 

It  may  be  urged,  that  members  of  the  Church  should 
yield  obedience  to  the  Church,  and  receive  her  enact- 


OUR    DUTIES.  ggg 

ments  as  equal  in  authority  with  the  Bible,  for  the  take 
of  union.  We  have  proof  in  the  history  of  the  Romish 
Church  that  this  theory  is  false.  It  has  been  fairly 
m<  (|,and  her  Dominicans,  Augusdnes,  Jesuits  and  .Ian 
senists,  prove  her  inability  to  kw\>  the  unity  of  the 
faith  in  the  bond  of  peace.  There  is  no  more  union 
of  views  and  feeling  in  this  Church,  than  in  those  that 
profess  to  take  the  Bible  alone  for  their  rule  and  guide. 
There  will  be  a  difference  of  opinion  in  respect  to  many 
doctrines  of  the  Bible  among  honest  and  sincere  Men, 
until  all  become  equally  developed  as  social,  intellec- 
tual and  moral  beings.  Our  education  and  habits  are 
different — necessarily  so  in  the  present  state  of  the 
world — and  while  this  is  true,  our  views  of  Bcriptuie 
truth  will  be  different.  But  wisdom  is  justified  of  all 
her  children;  therefore,  we  may  hope  the  time  will 
come  when  all  shall  see  eye  to  eye.  Before  this  day 
arrives  we  should  plant  our  feet  upon  the  Bible  as  a 
rock,  and  call  the  world  away  from  following  the  ten 
thousand  existing  false  lights  to  the  true  and  never- 
failing  guide.  Step  but  a  single  hair's  breadth  from 
this  position,  and  we  open  the  flood-gates  of  error  and 
delusion,  that  will  drown  out  the  truth  from  the  world. 
Then  is  large  hope  when  men  will  stand  by  the  Bible, 
and  appeal  to  that  in  all  questions  of  doctrine  and 
controversy.  Even  if  they  interpret  it  wrong,  it  is  far 
better  than  to  rely  on  human  authority,  though  by  so 
doing  unity  and  stability  are  secured.  The  time  has 
come  when  the  Church  must  abandon  all  human  in- 
ventions and  doctrines,  and  rely  on  the  Bible  alone — 
the  Bible, 


By  which  the  bark  of  man  can  navigate 
The  sea  of  life,  and  gain  the  coast  of  bliw 


330  PHILOSOPHY    OF    REFORM. 

Securely!  the  only  star  which  rose  on  time, 
And  on  its  dark  and  troubled  billows,  still, 
As  generation,  drifting  swiftly  by, 
Succeeded  generation,  threw  a  ray 
Of  heaven's  own  light,  and  to  the  hills  of  God, 
The  eternal  hills,  pointed  the  sinner's  eye." 


DUTIES   OF    MINISTERS   OF  THE    GOSPEL. 

We  omit  designedly,  as  in  respect  to  Churches,  to 
mention  any  duties  except  those  the  peculiar  state  of 
society  seems  to  demand  of  different  classes  of  men. 

A  minister  is  Christ's  ambassador — an  under  officer 
in  his  kingdom  on  earth,  or  a  shepherd  of  the  flock. 
To  instruct,  feed  and  lead  the  Church,  is,  therefore, 
ever  his  duty,  but  more  especially  as  a  the  times  V 
demand  this  labor  of  him.  Instruct  and  feed!  how 
important  in  this  age  of  excitement,  tinsel  and  sem- 
blance ;  in  this  age  of  new  isms,  false  teaching  and  theo- 
ries. It  will  not  do  to  fan  the  emotions,  please  the 
fancy,  and  cultivate  the  imagination  alone  ;  nor,  on  the 
other  hand,  is  the  exhibiting  the  doctrines  of  the  Bi- 
ble in  the  same  old,  dead,  formal  manner,  from  one 
year's  end  to  another,  feeding  and  instructing  the 
Church.  Those  doctrines,  which  are  marked  down  in 
our  if  articles  "  and  "  confessions  "  may  be  preached 
to  the  same  Church  over  and  over  again  with  no  new 
argument  or  illustration,  but  this  is  not  instructing 
them.  What !  instruct  those  by  repeating  what  they  are 
as  familiar  with  as  household  words  ?  Is  there  nothing 
in  the  gospel  that  may  require  the  study  of  a  life  to  un- 
derstand %  Certainly  not,  if  it  contains  nothing  more 
than  a  few  fundamental  doctrines  with  their  proofs, 
and  a  few  rich  themes'  for  the  display  of  a  vivid  ima- 
gination, or  such  as  will  serve  to  awaken  the  emotions. 


OUR   DUTIES.  331 

This  is  not  all  die  gospel  contains.     There  is  a  depth 

that  will  require  die  endless  ages  of  eternal  years  to 
sound  ;  a  height,  and  length,  and  breadth,  that  will 
never  be  measured;   and  a  richness  and  purity   that 
can  never  be  fully  appreciated  in  this  world.     It  is  the 
minister's  duty  to  bring  out  this  wealth,  and  with  it 
enrich  the  people.     The  Church   must  he  elevated  in 
holiness  and  increased  in  Christian  experience  and  in- 
telligence.    The  minister  must  be  able  to  reveal  new 
beauties  in  Christ,  and  deeper  and  richer  truths,  from 
time  to  time,  or  he  is  not  fit  for  the  station  he  occupies. 
We  see  far  more  to  fear,  in  the  general  understanding 
that  no  more  is  required  of  the  minister  than  to  instruct 
his  people  in  the  doctrines  held  by  his  sect,  which  means 
to  make  them  good  Baptists,  Churchmen, or  Methodists, 
than  in  almost  any  other  one  thing.     Suppose   the 
fundamental  principles  of  the  sects  are  true,  and  that, 
so  far  as  the  members  are  thus  instructed,  good  is  the 
result,  is  there  not  a  point  or  position  definitely  marked 
and  understood  in  each  one,  that  is  never  expected  to 
be  passed,  but,  if  gained,  all  is  well  and  prosperous. 
All  the  older  "  substantial  members  "  are  supposed  to 
have,  attained  this  position,  and  are  well  versed  in  all 
their  teacher  can  impart.     By  inculcating  these  truths 
among  a  people  ignorant  of  them,  wonderful  changes 
will  be  produced  ;  but  when  they  have  all  been  learned, 
and  individuals  are  elevated  where  they  would  be  able 
to  understand  something  more,  and  when,  indeed, 
their  nature  absolutely  demands  something  more,  if 
their  system  and  teachers  will  not  grant  them  their 
supply,  they  will  seek  for  it  elsewhere,  and  in  the  ef- 
fort usually  become  fanatics,  and  thus  ruined.     These 
old  immobility  systems  are  not  in  harmony  with  the 
genius  of  the  gospel.     They  were  once  true,  but  they 


332  PHILOSOPHY    OF    REFORM. 

are  now  outgrown  and  false.  These  doctrines  are  the 
gospel's  skeleton.  They  do  not  possess  the  gospel's 
progressive  principle,  which  knows  no  stopping-place 
for  man  in  this  world  or  in  heaven.  We  need,  there- 
fore, a  race  of  ministers  who,  from  their  intellectual 
strength,  and  deep  and  extensive  Christian  experience, 
are  able  to  lead  the  Church  from  one  state  of  holiness 
to  another,  on  toward  heaven.  The  times  demand 
this,  and  in  spite  of  earth  and  hell,  it  will  be  fully 
met.  The  world  is  rilled  with  ministers,  but  thousands 
are  only  able  to  instruct  the  people  in  the  first  princi- 
ples of  the  gospel.  They  may  be  good  men,  but  they 
will  do  more  injury,  in  the  end,  than  good. 

These  men  will  never  be  able  to  develop  the  whole 
moral  mass,  and  perfect  the  saint  in  the  truth.  We 
may  be  able  to  raise  up  a  heavy  granite  block  almost 
to  its  destined  position,  but  when  the  ropes  break  and 
it  comes  down  upon  the  multitude  and  crushes  scores 
to  death,  no  one  will  then  be  found  to  speak  of  the 
good  that  was  supposed  to  be  accomplished .  Improve- 
ments are  made  in  everything.  Man  is  increasing  in 
intellectual  strength,  and  perfecting  himself  as  a  civil 
and  social  being,  and  one  of  many  things  is  true,  viz., 
that  he  has  become  perfect  as  a  Christian,  or  he  must 
make  further  advancement,  or  religion  will  soon  be 
abandoned  as  a  perfect  farce.  We  do  not  look  for 
improvements  in  the  gospel,  or  in  moral  principle,  but 
we  do  believe  there  are  rich  gems  in  the  former  that 
have  not  yet  been  obtained  ;  if  so,  it  is  the  height  of 
folly  and  wickedness  for  any  sect  to  teach,  either  by 
precept  or  example,  that  its  standard  is  perfection. 

We  may  therefore  remark,  that  "  the  times"  de- 
mand that  the  minister  shall  guard  against  innovation 
on  the  one  hand,  and  against  a  fearfulness  of  making 


OUR    DUTIES.  MM 

improvement   on  the  other.      The  sects,  regarding 

their  systems  perfect,  have  held  on  to  them  m>  |<mg 
already,  that  out  moral  being  has  begun  to  cry  out  for 
something  that  cannot  be  obtained  in  them,  and  m 
the  consequent  effort  to  supply  the  demand,  ten  thou- 
sand schemes  have  been  devised,  which  are  generating 
delusions  and  heresies  everywhere.  Against  these 
mno\  aimns  we  should  guard,  but,  in  so  doing,  be 
careful  that  we  do  not  shut  and  bar  the  gate  8l 
every  improvement.  Men  are  too  intelligent  to  plod 
around  in  the  old  bark  mill-track  much  longer ;  indeed 
it  must  not  be  done,  for  it  is  turning  traitor  to  our  na- 
ture and  exciting  mutiny  on  our  own  shipboard. 
Ministers  may  attempt,  however,  to  guard  against 
new  isms  and  wild-fire,  by  preaching  up  the  doctrines 
and  canons  of  their  Church  ;  but  this  is  not  enough, 
they  must  lead  the  people  onward  toward  the  promised 
land,  and  show  them  a  "  more  excellent  way."  He 
should  not  be  anxious  to  adopt  any  new  thing  that  is 
not  sanctioned  by  his  Church,  still  he  should  not  re- 
ject it  simply  because  it  is  new.  He  who  greedily 
receives  every  new  theory  as  true,  and  he  who  rejects 
it  for  the  same  reason,  are  equally  foolish,  fanatical 
and  mad.  He  who  teaches  that  no  improvement  can 
be  made  beyond  his  sect,  is  a  practical  perfectionist  ! 
We,  therefore,  need  men  in  the  ministry  so  freed  from 
every  prejudice,  so  thoroughly  educated  in  heart  and 
head,  as  to  be  able,  when  a  deep  gem  shall  be  dug  up 
in  the  deep  mine,  to  analyze  it,  and  if  a  true  gem,  to 
incorporate  it  into  their  creed,  though  it  may  bring 
down  upon  them  the  world's  frown  and  the  sneers  of 
their  sect. 

Therefore,  when,  in  any  past  time,  has  the  minister 
been  so  imperiously  called  upon  to  be  independent 


334  PHILOSOPHY    OF    REFORM. 

and  uncompromising  as  at  the  present?  We  need  in- 
telligent, prudent,  judicious  and  holy  men  in  the 
ministry,  men  who  can  and  who  dare  think  alone, 
and  speak  and  act  alone.  We  need  men  who  shall 
hold  the  helm  resolutely  and  strongly  in  the  fierce, 
driving  storm;  men  who  shall  be  so  shut  up  within 
themselves,  and  in  their  God,  as  not  to  heed  the 
world's  uproar  and  clamor,  or  fear  its  trials  and  power ; 
men  whose  souls  shall  be  calm  amid  the  wild,  tum- 
bling chaos,  and  able  to  lift  up  their  voice  above  the 
thunders,  and  say  to  their  crews,  while  plunging  amid 
the  war  of  elements,  u  here  is  the  path,  follow  that, 
and  guard  against  the  rocks  and  reefs." 

DUTIES  OF   CHRISTIANS. 

If  it  is  the  minister's  duty  to  strive  to  improve  and 
develop  the  Christian,  it  is  the  duty  of  the  latter  to 
improve  and  perfect  himself  in  every  good  work. 
There  is  a  depth  in  Christian  experience,  and  a  high 
and  elevated  state  of  holy  living,  to  which  we  have 
not  attained.  Let  us  fix  our  eye  on  that,  and  rest  not 
till  it  is  reached,  and  then  stretch  the  sight  onward 
and  still  onward,  until  the  gates  of  heaven  are  open 
to  us.  "  The  times"  demand  this  of  us.  The  strong 
tendency  to  formalism  cannot  otherwise  be  counter- 
acted. Friend,  look  around !  thou  canst  labor,  and 
make  some  human  heart  better  and  happier.  Indeed, 
there  is  vastly  much  to  be  done,  and  may  we  abandon 
the  Church  and  seek  to  accomplish  it  by  some  other 
system  of  effort  1  Abandon  the  Church  !  For  what 
was  it  organized?  for  what  was  it  designed,  if  it  was 
not  to  put  the  world  in  possession  of  the  truth  ?  Its 
very  design  and  object  forbid  its  being  abandoned  for 


OUR    DUTIES.  ||| 

any  other  association,  to  i  .-move  a  moral  evil  or  secure 
a  moral  good.  We  must  labor,  then,  in  the  way  pre- 
srrihed,  or  expert  to  be  visited  with  the  rod.  I'nlrsswe 
do,  our  labor  is  useless — it  can  never  be  successful.  The 
remr.lv  proposed  does  not  reach  the  case.  You  can 
ni'vi ■  in;ikc  men  abandon  an  evil  course  until  jfft 
httre  eitabtfehed  the  principle  of  truth  in  the  mind, 
which,  in  its  legitimate  operation,  will  overthrow  tin- 
evil.  But,  in  our  voluntary  associations,  the  soleohj* .  i 
is  to  carry  out,  not  establish,  principle  ;  and  even  were 
the  latter  the  design,  it  could  not  be  gained  from  (lie 
nature  of  the  case.  It  not  only  will  do  no  good,  but 
it  will  assuredly  result  in  evil.  Its  very  tendency  is 
to  narrowness  of  views  and  feelings.  The  mind,  by 
dwelling  on  a  single  truth,  in  its  application  to  a  single 
state  of  things,  will  soon  come  to  regard  the  enterprise 
atf-important,  and  look  upon  every  other  good  work 
as  perfectly  insignificant.  This,  in  turn,  will  produce 
a  sour  disposition  and  a  spirit  of  censoriousness  and 
denunciation;  and,  inasmuch  as  the  broad  principle  of 
truth  is  not  established  in  that  mind,  and  the  standard 
lowered  down  to  his  "  one  idea,"  and  whereas  his 
own  evil  passions  are  not  wholly  eradicated,  he  will 
very  soon  be  led  into  the  very  course  he  so  strenuously 
contends  against,  for,  by  dwelling  on  that  evil  for  a 
length  of  time  in  the  light  of  his  own  narrow  views, 
it  will  lose  its  heinousness  in  his  mind,  and  he  will  be 
left  to  follow  his  own  impulses  in  respect  to  it. 

We  may  here  sum  up  the  duties  "  the  times"  posi- 
tively demand  of  the  Christian  in  a  single  word,  viz., 
to  live  singularly  holy  lives,  to  make  constant  ad- 
vancement in  holiness,  and  to  labor  diligently  and 
earnestly  "  the  whole  of  life"  in  the  way  and  with 
the  use  of  those  means  prescribed. 
15 


336  PHILOSOPHY    OF    REFORM. 

It  may  be  important  to  point  out  the  duty  of  the 
classes  already  mentioned,  in  respect  to  "  benevolent 
institutions."  It  will  not  be  necessary,  however,  to 
examine  each  moral  enterprise  of  the  day  separately. 
The  Missionary,  Bible,  Tract,  Education,  Publication 
and  Bethel  Societies  are  all  of  the  same  general  na- 
ture, each  having  the  same  great  object  in  view.  We 
will,  therefore,  confine  our  remarks  to  the  first-men- 
tioned Society.  Perhaps,  indeed,  even  this  may  be 
unnecessary,  for  our  object  can  be  equally  well  gained 
by  a  statement  of  general  principles  that  will  apply  to 
each.  The  object  of  these  institutions  is  to  carry  and 
spread  the  gospel  among  the  destitute.  The  Church 
is  the  world's  reformer ;  therefore,  this  work  must  not 
be  taken  out  of  the  Church,  either  directly  or  indi- 
rectly. Hence,  these  societies  should  be  so  organized 
as  to  exhibit  to  all  that  it  is  the  Church  that  has  ac- 
complished all  the  good  done.  We  have  no  detailed 
plan  given  us  in  the  Scriptures,  but  we  have  that  of 
the  Primate  Church.  If  we  have  not  a  positive  we 
have  a  negative  plan,  for  we  have  the  organization  of 
the  Church  and  its  object  given  us,  and  we  are  not 
to  do  that  which  in  any  degree  will  injure  it.  We 
would  not  contend  that  we  must  necessarily  be  con- 
formed to  the  plan  of  the  primitive  Church,  but  admit 
that  we  have  the  right  to  adopt  any  that  shall  not  in- 
fringe upon  the  work  of  the  Church,  still,  we  doubt 
whether  any  better  one  can  be  devised  than  that  of 
the  Apostles.  Until  the  world  is  Christianized,  some 
portions  will  need  the  aid  of  others  to  instruct  and  en- 
lighten them.  Let  the  Church  be  trained  to  works  of 
benevolence,  being  governed  by  its  principles,  and  let 
the  wants  of  the  world  be  brought  before  it,  and  the 
requisite  aid  will  be  forthcoming.     She  needs  no  agent 


OUR    DUTIES.  337 

to  remind  her  of  her  duty,  but  she  will  lay  by  in  store 
on  the  first  day  of  the  week  as  the  Lord  has  prospered 

licr. 

By  the  way,  this  agency  system  was  not  recognised 
in  the  primitive  Church,  and  it  has  no  business  in  the 
Church  at  the  present  day.  It  is  an  innovation,  not  an 
liiUMowment,  and  we  look  for  the  day  when  we  shall 
be  astonished  at  ourselves  for  having  tolerated  it. 

To  a  very  great  extent,  the  Church  is  now  freed 
from  responsibility  in  the  work  of  evangelizing  the 
world.  Our  Boards  send  out  their  agents,  who  go 
from  church  to  church  and  collect  the  requisite  fumls. 
Their  greatest  success  depends  on  their  ability  to 
awaken  the  sympathies  and  feelings  of  their  hearers. 
An  unnatural  state  of  things  is  thus  created,  and  the 
whole  system  becomes  fitful  and  inconstant.  Let  that 
same  church  be  properly  instructed,  and  let  her  pastor 
present  the  claims  of  the  world  from  time  to  lime, 
and  everything  becomes  regular  and  constant;  the 
fountain  is  kept  full,  so  that  funds  may  be  drawn 
out  at  any  time  to  sustain  the  living  teacher  in  tin 
East  or  West,  or  wherever  he  may  be  needed.  Other- 
wise we  may  expect  embarrassments  and  forty  thou- 
sand dollar  debts  that  will  greatly  cripple  the  whole 
machinery.  When  this  is  the  case,  extra  meetings 
must  be  called,  and  agents  multiplied,  who  will  go  on 
the  wings  of  the  wind  to  every  church  in  the  land. 
The  story  of  the  heathen's  wants,  woes  and  prospects 
is  spread  out  in  glowing  colors,  or  the  love  of  sect  is 
appealed  to,  and  the  compassion  and  sympathy  of  the 
people,  and  the  money  collected.  Who  does  not  see 
that  this  system  is  in  perfect  keeping  with  our  high- 
pressure  revival  system,  and  therefore  productive  in  the 
end  of  the  same  ruinous  results  1    Still,  there  are  those 


338  PHILOSOPHY    OF    REFORM. 

who  have  no  sympathy  with  the  former,  and  at  the 
same  time  contend  strenuously  for  the  latter. 

While  we  regard  all  these  plans  and  systems  as  wrong", 
to  some  extent,  we  have  no  disposition  to  disorganize. 
Our  theory  of  reformation  would  not  permit  this.  The 
time  has  not  come  for  it ;  therefore  we  may  sustain 
them  by  guarding  against  their  evil  tendency,  while 
we  wait  their  destruction  by  an  overruling  Providence. 
We  would  regard  them  as  we  do  the  Church.  It  is 
not  perfect,  still  it  is  the  Church  of  Christ ;  therefore, 
while  we  love  her  with  all  her  faults,  we  should  seek 
her  purification.  All  that  is  good  and  true  of  these 
societies  will  endure,  while  all  that  is  false  and  incon- 
sistent with  the  plan  of  reformation  will  be  destroyed. 

THE    DUTY   OF    STATESMEN. 

The  state  of  the  civil,  as  well  as  the  moral  world, 
is  peculiar.  Almost  every  government  in  the  world 
is  shaken  to  its  base.  Fearfulness  has  taken  hold  of 
the  tyrant,  surprise  and  astonishment  of  the  blind  aris- 
tocrat. The  cause  of  this  is  to  be  found  in  the  fact, 
that  the  governments  that  now  exist  were  made  for 
the  people  of  former  ages.  They  were  well  adapted 
to  the  then  existing  state  of  society,  but  the  people 
have  changed  and  outgrown  their  civil  institutions. 
As  true  as  there  is  a  state  to  which  all  men  may  attain, 
and  beyond  which  there  is  no  improvement  in  this 
world,  it  is  as  true  that  there  is  a  form  of  civil  govern- 
ment adapted  to  that  state,  which  will  remain  perma- 
nent and  secure  to  the  governed  all  their  natures  de- 
mand as  civil  beings.  But  there  are  few  or  none  of 
this  character  existing ;  therefore  all  must  be  changed 
as  the  condition  of  man  becomes  improved,  or  else  the 


OUR    DUTIES.  ggg 

governed,  in  time,  will  change  them  in  good  Fi 
revolution  style.  Therefore  those  kings  and  ratal 
who  see  their  governments  trembling  and  wonder  that 
it  should  be  so,  and  who  are,  therefore,  laboring  and 
praying  for  the  good  old  days  of  former  times,  w  ith 
all  their  astonishment,  threats  and  labor,  will  not  be 
able  to  bring  back  those  "old  times  " — never,  unless 
they  can  take  back  the  people  to  the  ignorance,  and 
vice,  and  darkness,  and  bigotry  of  other  days ;  which, 
by  the  way,  can  never  be  done  without  a  vote  of  the 
people,  for,  in  this  thing,  natnre  will  compel  them  to 
be  republicans. 

Statesmen  are  bound  to  look  these  and  similar  facts 
in  the  face  and  weigh  them  well,  or  the  time  is  coming 
when  they  will  be  called  to  account  to  an  indignant 
world  for  their  blindness  and  negligence.  They  must 
be  able  to  understand  the  nature  and  object  of  civil 
governments,  and  the  character  of  the  people  for  whom 
they  legislate,  or  they  cannot  rule  in  justice; — rule  so 
that  nature  will  not  destroy  their  work.  The  time  is 
fast  hastening  when  partyism  will  receive  its  just  trial, 
and  be  rejected  as  narrow,  bigoted  and  contemptible* 
legislation.  We  mean  by  partyism  a  disposition  to 
labor  for  party  alone,  its  honor  and  victory,  for  the 
promised  reward  of  a  salaried  office.  Parties  will 
exist,  especially  in  all  governments  where  the  people 
have  the  least  voice  in  civil  affairs,  until  we  are  able 
to  see  eye  to  eye  in  all  things.  There  may  be  an 
honest  difference  of  opinion,  in  respect  to  the  best 
measures  to  be  adopted  to  secure  to  the  people  the 
greatest  good  ;  but  in  this  case  the  party  is  supported 
for  the  good  of  the  country,  and  not  for  the  emolu- 
ments of  office.  We  need  statesmen  who  will  labor 
for  the  spread  of  countryUm — men  who  will  legislate 


340  PHILOSOPHY    OF    REFORM. 

to  elevate  the  nation  and  the  world  in  all  truth,  and 
bring-  it  up  to  that  civil  position  for  which  it  was  de- 
signed. 

No  enlightened  government  can  be  administered 
without  a  constitution,  and  that  adhered  to  strictly ; 
but,  as  no  one  can  be  framed  to  meet  the  wants  of 
every  state  of  society,  they  must  change  as  society 
changes,  until  a  perfect  civil  government  is  obtained. 
The  statesman,  therefore,  must  seek  for  the  advance- 
ment and  improvement  of  the  nation.  On  this  he 
should  constantly  keep  his  eye.  He  may  seek  perma- 
nency only  as  a  secondary  thing,  knowing  there  can 
be  no  real  permanency  short  of  a  perfect  government. 
He  is  an  unwise  statesman  who  lays  out  all  his  strength 
to  sustain  the  institutions  of  his  fathers.  He  may  hold 
on  to  their  permanent  foundation,  while  he  is  prepar- 
ing- for  a  more  elevated  position,  and  then  leave  it 
without  regret,  though  it  was  built  of  the  tears  and 
blood  of  his  fathers.  Look  at  England  at  the  present 
time,  rocking,  boiling  and  heaving  like  a  volcano. 
For  centuries  she  has  succeeded  in  maintaining  her 
present  form  of  government,  and  her  whole  energies 
are  still  taxed  to  perpetuate  it.  When  it  was  formed, 
it  was  a  good  advance  on  any  that  she  had  before 
enjoyed ;  but  the  people  have  outgrown  it,  and  in 
many  respects  it  is,  to  them,  like  an  old  boot  that  has 
been  outgrown  and  now  galls  the  feet.  Hence  we  hear 
their  groans  in  Birmingham  riots,  Chartist  mobs  and 
Anti-Corn-Law  leagues.  The  aristocracy  have  not 
changed;  they  exist  without  one  particle  of  improve- 
ment, as  they  did  a  hundred  years  ago :  therefore  to 
this  class  the  government  is  well  enough.  But  the 
people  have  changed.  There  was  no  provision  made 
for  their  social  being,  for,  at  the  time  it  was  framed, 


OUR   DUi  ;m| 

their  social  being  was  not  developed  to  any  great  < 
tent;  but  now,  when  they  have  become  perfected,  in 
some  good  degree,  in  tins  respect,  they  find  themselves 
chained  down  slaves  as  social  beings,  and  they  begin 
to  cry  out  against  the  tyranny.  Hence,  if  England's 
statesmen  do  not  reform  their  government,  the  people 
will  revolutionize  it.  This  can  no  more  be  hindered 
than  a  volcano  can  be  smothered.  We  might,  for  the 
searching,  find  facts  in  abundance,  in  every  govern- 
ment, that  would  illustrate  the  same  wants  and  dan- 
gers. Therefore  it  is  evident  that  permanency  must 
not  be  sought  for  at  the  expense  of  all  improvement. . 
Still,  it  should  be  remembered  that  making  experi- 
ments is  always  attended  with  danger.  Our  statesmen 
must  be  careful  and  not  rush  into  one  of  the  extremes 
to  avoid  the  other ;  that  is,  they  should  guard  against 
innovation  on  the  one  hand,  and  a  fearfulness  of 
making  improvements  on  the  other. 

We  regard  our  own  government,  in  the  main,  a 
true  and  perfect  civil  government.  That  is,  we  un- 
derstand that  here  the  principles  of  the  gospel  are 
made  applicable  to  man's  civil  nature  when  developed 
in  the  highest  possible  degree.  There  is  no  danger  in 
a  republic  if  the  people  are  prepared  for  it;  and,  from 
our  knowledge  of  men,  we  are  able  to  say,  on  condi- 
tion the  people  are  sufficiently  intelligent  and  virtuous, 
it  could  not  be  considered  in  the  light  of  an  experiment ; 
for  it  is  self-evident  that  it  is  the  wisest,  best,  and  the 
only  form  of  government  that  can  be  successful  among 
a  people  fully  developed  as  civil  beings,  as  men  will 
not  submit  to  any  government  that  would,  in  its  work- 
ing, cripple  the  energies  or  prevent  the  full  exercise 
of  all  their  powers.  The  people  that  are  the  least 
governed  are  the  best  governed.     The  freest  govern- 


342  PHILOSOPHY    OF    REFORM. 

raent  is  the  most  perfect,  that  is,  the  government  that 
leaves  the  subject  the  freest  to  act  and  govern  himself. 
It  would  be  perfect  madness  to  introduce  such  govern- 
ments into  China,  or  Russia,  or  Mexico,  because  the 
people  are  not  prepared  for  them.  They  are  not  suf- 
ficiently virtuous  and  intelligent  to  govern  themselves  ; 
hence,  the  government — the  maker  and  executor  of  the 
laws — must  be  in  the  hands  of  the  few.  It  would  be 
equal  madness  to  endeavor  to  rule  America  or  England 
by  an  absolute  monarchy.  As  is  the  state  of  society , 
so  must  be  the  government.  It  will  be  so,  and  in  those 
governments  where  the  rulers  have  power  to  smother 
the  effort  to  conform  the  institutions  to  the  existing  state 
of  things,  a  revolution  will  be  the  result ;  for  there  is 
a  point  beyond  which  human  nature  will  never  bend, 
and  it  will  never  break,  but,  bent  to  that  point,  it 
springs  back  and  destroys  the  tyrant.  The  times  de- 
mand of  the  statesman  a  full  understanding  of  these 
facts,  among  the  ten  thousand  that  are  common  to  all 
time. 


EDUCATION. 

We  mean  by  education,  the  disciplining  the  mind 
to  think  and  investigate  for  itself.  There  is  much 
meaning  in  this,  more  than  can  be  spread  out  on  pa- 
per. To  investigate  !  This  is  not  the  ability  to  read 
over  the  best  books  and  collect  up  the  thoughts  and 
sayings  of  other  men,  but  it  is  clearing  and  brightening 
the  mind's  eyesight,  and  strengthening  it,  and  thus  be- 
coming able  to  look  into  the  middle  of  a  thing  our- 
selves,— it  is  to  throw  Probability,  Perhaps  and  Guess- 
work to  the  winds,  and  know  the  things  we  study — 
it  is  to  lay  right  hold  of  the  thing  with  a  giant's 


OUR    DUTIES.  .  \\\:\ 

strength  and  embowel  it  and  spread  its  hidden  content* 
beimv  the  world.  T<>  think  !  Ii  is  not  to  bold  the 
mind  open  to  the  ten  thousand  floating  visions  of  a 
fancy  world,  but  it  is  to  bring  it  down  into  ih<  \«i\ 
limit  of  the  subject,  and  gather  up  its  rich  pearls  and 
arrange  them,  and  weave  them  into  a  wreath  to  encir- 
cle the  soul's  brow.  To  think!  There  is  sublimity 
and  grandeur  in  that  word.  Its  ability  gives  worth  to 
man  that  is  greater  than  the  deep  ocean.  Discipline 
to  think  !  The  greatest  of  ail  great  labors,  the  wisest, 
noblest  and  best. 

Education !  It  is  developing  and  cultivating  not  a 
single  faculty,  but  every  power  and  feeling  of  the 
mind,  in  the  most  perfect  degree.  It  is  to  push  out 
the  mind,  from  its  first  budding,  with  all  its  numerous 
branches,  and  develop  and  strengthen  them  folly.  It 
is  to  cultivate  the  mind — to  bring  out  its  beauty,  its  great- 
ness and  strength.  It  is  to  fit  the  mind  for  its  own 
work — to  think,  to  reason,  and  to  act.  To  educate  the 
mind,  is  to  prepare  it  to  explore  the  very  depth  of  all 
things,  to  know  all  things  that  are  allowed  mortals. 
What  conscious  greatness,  dignity  and  independence 
there  is  in  this  man;  humble,  too,  withal,  for  he  H 
conscious  of  an  ocean  of  truth  stretched  out  before  him, 
while  he  has  yet  gathered  but  a  few  of  its  pebbles  that 
were  washed  ashore. 

To  be  educated,  then,  is  to  bring  out  the  man  until 
we  feel  it — until  the  existence  of  our  real  manhood 
becomes  a  fixed  fact  in  our  life — until  we  feel  that  we 
have  a  live  soul  within  us — a  clear-sighted,  far-reach- 
ing and  deep-penetrating  mind,  with  high  and  noble 
aspirations.     Such  men  are  the  world's  true  noblemen. 

But  educating  the  intellectual,  social  or  moral  man 
alone,  will  produce  an  ill-proportioned,  unbalanced 
15* 


344  PHILOSOPHY    OF    REFORM. 

mind,  which  is  incapable  of  any  great  and  noble  ac- 
tion. We  need  men  educated,  as  already  described, 
so  that  they  can  stand  alone  and  walk  erect,  and  stagger 
not,  though  the  weight  of  the  world  was  pressing  on 
them — men,  that  are  built  up  strong  on  every  side,  not 
towering  to  the  clouds  in  intellectual  greatness,  while 
the  moral  and  social  feelings  are  uneducated,  Byron- 
like— neither  rising  up  to  heaven  in  holy  feeling, 
while  the  intellect  is  as  uncultivated  as  that  of  the 
Hottentot.  In  either  case,  it  is  like  building  a  monu- 
ment upon  a  too  narrow  foundation,  and  leaning  so 
far  that  the  centre  of  gravity  is  without  its  base,  so  that 
in  the  one  case  the  mind  will  fall  into  blank  infidelity, 
and  in  the  other,  into  fanaticism  ;  but  built  upon  the 
broad  foundation  of  the  whole  mind,  rising  up  on  every 
side  strong,  firm  and  perpendicular,  so  that  when  the 
capstone  shall  be  fitted  to  its  place,  the  whole  may 
present  a  beautiful  and  symmetrical  tower  that  will 
defy  the  winds  and  waves,  and  stand  as  a  guide  to 
coming  generations.  The  world  is  filled  with  a  one- 
sided education,  hence  we  everywhere  find  men  halting, 
crippled,  stumbling  and  fearing,  like  blind  men  on  the 
brink  of  a  precipice.  There  is  a  want  of  solidity  and 
strength  in  men  at  the  present  day  to  fit  them  for 
great  deeds  in  any  department  of  life.  Our  educa- 
tion is  too  artificial  and  narrow — too  much  of  the 
boarding-school  character — to  be  of  much  service  in 
the  world.  The  external  is  sought  to  be  polished, 
while  the  inner  man  is  neglected.  There  exists,  there- 
fore, a  kind  of  sham  greatness,  and  sham  reality  in  al- 
most every  department. 

It  is  not  necessary  to  speak  of  the  influence  of  edit- 
ors, writers  and  book-makers,  in  moulding  and  fashion- 
ing the  public  taste,  character  and  morals,  for  it  is  evi- 


OUR    DUTIES.  |g| 

<]<  nt  to  every  observing  mind  that  they  do  stamp  \k*k 
own  feelings  and  character  upon  the  minds  of"  th.ir 
readers.  What,  then,  is  the  duty  of  those  who  aid  in 
fonnini:  (he  knowledge,  opinions  and  feelings  of  the 
people,  whether  they  labor  as  editors,  poets,  book-ma- 
kers, l  of  preachers — all  that  give  direction  and 
coloring  to  the  public  mind,  or  all  that  have  anything 
to  do  in  forming  the  literature  of  a  people?  But  a 
word  need  be  said  on  this  point.  They  are  called 
upon  to  study  well,  and  thoroughly  understand,  all  the 
facts  as  they  exist  in  the  literary  world.  They  are  to 
ham  the  cause  and  the  remedy  for  all  the  evil.  They 
are  to  think,  speak  and  write,  so  that  no  one  portion  of 
the  mind  shall  be  educated  at  the  expense  of  another — 
so  that  the  whole  mind  shall  be  developed  in  harmony 
and  good  proportions.  This  writing  for  money,  for 
dollars  and  cents — and  of  course  such  as  will  be  read 
and  devoured  greedily,  therefore  that  which  will 
awaken  and  feed  the  more  tender  and  baser  passions — 
may  succeed  in  gaining  its  object,  but  it  will  prove  to 
be  gold  that  will  burn  the  hand  of  him  that  holds  it.  A 
balloon  appears  well  as  it  rises  up  into  the  clouds  and 
moves  away  until  it  is  seen  as  a  twinkling  star,  but  it 
can  never  be  made  to  carry  material  sufficient  to  gen- 
erate gas  that  will  keep  it  everlastingly  in  the  heavens ; 
it  must  therefore  descend,  and,  if  left  to  itself,  its 
coming  down  will  not  be  so  comfortable  after  all.  So 
with  our  light  literature,  it  may  do  for  awhile,  but  the 
time  hastens  when  its  pedlers  will  be  hunted  out  and 
cursed.  They  are  building  up  a  tower  that  will  fall 
in  the  first  storm,  and  crush  its  builders.  When  this 
course  has  been  pursued  awhile  longer,  and  the  diges- 
tive organs  become  deranged  for  want  of  proper  exer- 
cise, and  moral  dyspepsia  and  consumption  is  marked 


346  PHILOSOPHY    OF    REFORM. 

on  every  visage,  and  the  consequent  pain  is  raging  in 
the  whole  system,  the  world  will  rise  up  in  wrath  and 
despair,  and  repay  these  dealers  with  principle  and 
interest.  It  will  do  to  play  with  shadows  for  awhile, 
but  nature  will  overtake  such  soon,  and  come  down 
upon  them  with  heavy  blows.  "  Experience  is  a  good 
schoolmaster,  but  he  charges  a  long  purse  for  school- 
ing." 

What  is  termed  light  literature  may  be  patronized 
to  a  limited  extent.  The  feelings  that  are  sought  to 
be  cultivated  thereby  should  not  be  left  uncultivated, 
or  they  will  grow  up  rank  and  wild.  There  are  a 
few  novels  that  may  be  read  with  profit,  but  the  ma- 
jority are  trashy,  vapid  and  altogether  unsatisfactory 
to  a  wTell-educated  mind.  It  will  be  no  easy  matter 
to  enter  and  breast  this  muddy,  putrid  stream,  that  is 
rushing  with  swift  current,  yet  it  must  be  done,  and 
the  duty  belongs  to  those  who  have  charge  of  the 
world's  education.  Where  is  the  man,  capable  of 
being  heard,  who  will  stand  up  and  rebuke  those  who 
are  contributing  to  the  volume,  impetuosity  and 
strength  of  this  rushing  river,  and  turn  himself  and 
others  in  right  good  earnest  to  purifying  our  literature. 
Who  will  be  the  leader  in  this  department?  Let  him 
come  forth,  and,  if  competent  to  the  task,  he  shall  be 
commissioned  by  the  world,  and  when  he  shall  return 
from  the  war  successful  and  victorious,  he  shall  be 
hailed  the  prince  of  men,  and  his  brow  encircled  with 
a  wreath  of  unfading  glory. 

It  is  the  cjuty  of  all  to  aid  in  extending  general  edu- 
cation through  the  world.  It  is  cheering  to  look 
abroad,  and  be  able  to  see  almost  every  nation  inter- 
ested in  this  noble  work  of  feeding  the  immortal  mind. 
There  is  that  in  it  which  cheers,  and  also  that  which 


OUR    DUTIES.  ;U7 

saddens  the  mind.  Those  rulers  in  the  East  who  are 
seeking  to  educate  their  Mihje.-ts,  and  are  still  unwill- 
ing to  reform  their  governments,  are  building  a  train 
that  will  tire  the  magazine  that  is  under  their  throne, 
for  an  educated  people  will  govern  themselves — tiny 
will  think,  speak  and  act  for  themselves.  There  is 
sadness  in  this  view  of  the  picture  ;  still,  if  it  must,  let 
it  come — the  sooner  the  better,  for  the  world  was 
never  better  able  to  stand  the  shock.  Let  literary 
men,  therefore,  feed  the  people  with  wholesome  food, 
not  with  lightning  or  exhilarating  gas,  for  though  it 
may  produce  wonderful  and  astonishing  effects,  it  will 
enrage  the  people  and  prove  the  ruin  of  the  teacher. 

DUTIES    OF    CITIZENS. 

Among  the  many  duties  that  are  incumbent  on  the 
citizen,  in  all  times,  that  of  submission  to  law  appears 
to  be  loudly  demanded  at  the  present.  There  is  an 
evident  disposition  in  many  portions  of  the  world  to 
throw  off  all  restraint,  and  run  wild  whithersoever  the 
fancy  or  feelings  may  prompt.  This  is  owing  to  one- 
sided education.  Light  and  truth  are  breaking  in  on 
every  people.  They  begin  to  see  and  feel  that  they 
were  created  to  be  free,  but  have  yet  to  learn  they  are 
to  be  free  in  the  harness,  not  as  a  wild  horse.  This 
latter  is  freedom  run  mad,  which  will  end  in  anarchy, 
and  soon  in  despotism.  Suppose  the  yoke  is  galling 
and  the  chains  annoying,  there  is  a  way  to  get  free 
from  them — we  wear  them  till  they  can  be  taken  off. 
The  time  was  when  these  same  men,  or  their  fathers, 
did  not  know  they  were  fettered,  their  chains  being 
as  long  as  they  cared  to  step;  but  now,  having  be- 
come  somewhat   more   developed,   they   need   more 


348  PHILOSOPHY    OF    REFORM. 

room  ;  let  them,  therefore,  be  careful  lest  they  become 
outraged,  and,  in  the  attempt  to  break  their  fetters, 
break  their  own  necks,  and  rivet  new  and  stronger 
chains  upon  their  children.  The  voice  of  the  people 
will  be  heard.  Let  them,  then,  wear  their  chains, 
and  hold  up  their  manacled  hands  and  crushed 
hearts — let  them  exhibit  them  where  the  world  shall 
be  compelled  to  see  them,  and  let  their  cries  be  un- 
ceasing, and  help  will  come,  even  in  the  most  des- 
potic government  on  earth.  In  every  such  govern- 
ment there  are  crevices  in  the  prison-door,  through 
which  the  people  will  be  heard;  or,  should  it  be 
attempted  to  smother  their  voice,  they  will  arise  in  the 
dignity  and  strength  of  their  manhood,  break  down 
their  prison-walls  and  exterminate  the  tyrant. 

The  citizen  should  never  rest  satisfied  with  present 
attainments.  He  should  aim  to  perfect  his  education 
of  the  whole  man,  and  never  suffer  himself  to  feel 
there  is  nothing  beyond  what  he  or  his  country  pos- 
sesses. He  may  love  his  fathers  and  their  institu- 
tions, but  not  so  as  to  blind  him  to  the  necessity  of  all 
future  improvement.  Let  him  not  fear  to  lay  aside 
these  institutions  when  they  have  become  like  a  worn- 
out  garment;  neither  let  him,  in  his  anxiety  for  im- 
provement, throw  away  his  old  clothes  before  he  has 
possessed  himself  of  a  new  suit,  lest  he  become  naked 
and  perish.  Let  him  avoid  both  these  extremes,  and 
labor  well  to  prepare  himself  for  self-government ; 
and  when  all  have  succeeded  in  this  thing,  the  God 
who  made  them  will  grant  them  the  government  they 
seek  and  need.  Nature  is  true  to  herself,  and  when 
a  people  are  prepared  for  an  advance  step  in  civil 
government,  she  will  provide  some  way  to  effect  it. 
We  shall  be  allowed  to  step  as  long  as  we  are  capable, 


mi 

if  Nature  has  to  break  the  necks  of  nil  kjranH  to 
lengthen  our  chains.  It  requires  inm-  n>  «•!)..  i(lu> 
thing,  but  Nature  never  slumbers,  nor  forgets — her 
labor  may  appear  to  be  slow,  but  it  is  sure.  I  here- 
to) « \  In  «  ach  one,  and  every  nation  and  people,  u  bide 
their  time,  and  work  in  their  calling  faithfully  and 
earnestly  the  whole  of  life,"  and  they  will  find  Hi 
mom  for  fear  or  discouragement,  but  everything  to 
increase  their  hope  and  strength. 

Our  task  is  nearly  finished.  We  are  soon  to  bid 
our  readers  adieu,  no  more  to  meet,  perhaps,  until  we 
stand  together,  as  I  trust  we  may,  on  some  eminence 
in  the  heavenly  world  and  survey  the  earth  redeemed 
and  thoroughly  reformed,  moving  on  in  harmony  and 
grandeur  towards  its  destined  rest.  We  have  found 
the  proof  of  a  design  to  reform  the  world,  and  elevate 
it  far  above  its  present  position,  written  upon  the  page 
of  nature  and  Scripture.  We  have  sought  and  found 
the  instruments  with  which  the  work  is  to  be  accom- 
plished. The  means  and  measures  have  also  been 
made  evident.  We  have  traced  the  progress  of  truth 
in  the  earth,  and  ascertained  our  present  position  and 
prospects. 

The  plan  to  secure  this  glorious  result  is  briefly  this. 
There  is  an  indefinable,  incomprehensible  something  in 
all  things — which,  in  fact,  constitutes  all  real  things — 
that  we  call  truth.  We  have  found  that  whatever  is 
conformed  to  this  is  stable  and  enduring,  and  what- 
ever is  its  opposite  is  unstable  and  destined  to  destruc- 
tion. There  is  truth  in  all  the  movements  of  the 
planets,  in  the  growth  of  vegetation,  and  in  all  nature. 
God  is  truth.  He  made  all  worlds,  and  whatever  has 
been  kept  by  his  power  has  remained  perfectly  sub- 
jected or  conformed  to  the  laws  he  gave  in  the  begin- 


350  PHILOSOPHY    OF    REFORM. 

ning.  But  the  moral  world  is  not  governed  by  physi- 
cal force ;  therefore,  men  have  taken  occasion  to  sin, 
or  swing  out  from  the  sphere  in  which  they  were  cre- 
ated, and  are  now  running  lawless  whithersoever  the 
heart  inclines.  Everything  has  thus  been  broken  up 
from  its  primitive  state,  and  become  unnatural  and 
untrue.  Man  has  been  thrown  into  that  state  that  he 
cannot  fulfil  the  object  for  which  he  was  created. 
These  choice  plants  of  heaven  have  been  withered, 
and  man,  as  an  intellectual,  social  and  moral  being, 
has  become  a  dwarf.  He  is  pining  away  in  ignorance 
and  vice,  and  soon,  to  all  human  appearance,  he  will 
become  the  dupe  of  the  designing  and  slave  of  every 
evil  passion. 

Now  the  plan  is,  so  to  manage  the  world  as  to  de- 
velop the  whole  man  to  the  highest  possible  degree. 
Thus  Providence  is  laboring  to  conform  him  to  the 
truth,  so  that,  when  it  is  accomplished,  he  shall  as 
perfectly  fulfil  the  object  of  his  being  as  does  inani- 
mate creation.  This  is  the  general  plan  and  object. 
Minor  plans  have  been  introduced  into  the  system, 
but  they  are  all  subordinate  to  the  general  design.  For 
this  we  are  fed  and  clothed,  blessed  with  summer  and 
winter,  day  and  night,  rain  and  sunshine ;  and  for 
this  also  Christ  has  died  for  us,  and  the  Scriptures  and 
the  Spirit  have  been  given  us.  For  the  same  purpose 
Providence  has  raised  up  and  destroyed  nations,  broken 
up  existing  systems  of  error  that  preclude  the  possibility 
of  men's  thinking  and  investigating,  and  exhibited  our 
Maker  in  nature  and  in  grace.  Here,  then,  is  His 
plan  to  develop  man  fully  and  gear  him  into  the  great 
system  of  truth.  He  leaves  no  means  untried  for  this 
purpose.  He  lays  everything  under  contribution  to 
secure  it — even  the  free  winds  and  waves,  the  running 


OUR   Dt  l  35] 

stream  and  the  falling  leaf,  the  seasons,  the  climate, 
storms  and  calms,  all  things  are  made  to  pay  tribal* 
to  the  cause  of  truth. 

As  we  have  seen,  the  most  important  means,  that 
\\itlmut  which  all  others  would  utterly  fail,  is  the  re- 
generation of  the  heart.  All  others  depend  on  this  to 
give  them  the  least  importance.  This  is  the  life  and 
soul  of  the  whole  system.  This,  therefore,  invests 
everything  that  pertains  to  religion  and  its  propagation 
in  the  world  with  peculiar  importance.  Full  pro- 
vision is  made  for  this,  however,  so  that  every  one 
who  will  examine  will  be  encouraged.  But  who  will 
say  this  is  all  that  is  to  be  done  ?  Will  man's  intel- 
lectual and  moral  being  be  fully  developed  by  merely 
changing  the  heart1?  The  heathen,  ignorant  and 
steeped  in  vice,  may  be  converted,  yet  he  is  but  par- 
tially sanctified.  His  manner  of  life  has  been  such  as 
to  preclude  the  possibility  of  a  single  faculty  of  either 
body  or  mind  being  fully  developed  at  once ;  and,  as 
we  have  seen  the  design  is  to  develop  the  whole  man, 
we  must  suppose  it  will  be  accomplished  gradually  but 
surely.  Now,  even  were  the  whole  world  converted 
to  Christ,  we  do  not  see  that  the  work  is  completed. 
The  object  is  to  perfect  men  in  the  truth.  But  this 
cannot  be  done  suddenly,  or  by  a  single  effort,  or  in 
any  way  to  do  violence  to  any  law  of  our  physical 
being,  or  any  system  or  plan  adopted  for  this  purpose. 
Neither  can  it  be  done  by  preaching  the  gospel  alone, 
but  by  a  gradual,  thorough  and  effective  process, 
making  use  of  everything  around  us.  One  thing  is 
true:  the  whole  man  will  be  developed  and  elevated 
to  the  position  he  was  created  to  occupy — a  position 
far  above  that  we  now  occupy,  as  much,  perhaps,  as 


352  PHILOSOPHY   OF    REFORM. 

ours  is  above  that  of  the  benighted  African.     This  is 
soul-cheering  and  strengthening. 

In  the  prosecution  of  this  work  much  has  been  done, 
but  little,  perhaps,  at  a  casual  glance,  to  short-sighted 
mortals.  Yet,  when  we  come  to  take  into  the  account 
the  nature  of  the  work  to  be  done,  and  the  obstacles 
and  difficulties  in  the  way,  it  is  evident  the  progress 
has  been  rapid.  The  world  has  been  brought  almost 
to  an  interesting  crisis — interesting,  everything  consid- 
ered ;  for  we  know  what  will  be  the  final  result,  but 
fearful  if  we  look  not  beyond  the  boiling,  heaving  and 
tumbling  chaos.  Let  it  come — let  the  thunders  grow 
louder  and  still  louder.  Fear  not.  The  muttering, 
grating  and  thundering  of  the  elements  at  war  will 
soon  cease.  The  bow  of  promise  encircles  the  raging 
waves — already  the  smiles  of  angels  may  be  seen 
through  the  breaking  clouds.  The  world  will  soon 
be  elevated  to  its  destined  position,  and  then,  with  the 
pure  of  earth  and  heaven,  we  may  rejoice  that 

"  One  voice  employs  all  nations ; 
The  dwellers  in  the  vales  and  on  the  rocks 
Shout  to  each  other,  and  the  mountain-tops 
From  distant  mountains  catch  the  flying  joy, 
While  nation  after  nation  catch  the  strain — 
Earth  rolls  the  rapturous  hosanna  round." 


THE   END. 


G  ATES  ft  STEDMAN, 

BOOKSELLERS   AND    PUBLISHERS, 
114  WILLIAM  STREET,  NEAR  JOHN, 

Have  just  published,  in  2  volumes,  12mo, 

NOTES  FEOM  OVER  SEA; 

CONSISTING    OP 

OBSERVATIONS  MADE  IN  EOROPB, 

PRINCIPALLY  GREAT  BRITAIN  AND  ITALY. 
BY  REV.  JOHN  MITCHELL. 


OPINIONS  OF  THE 
Interesting  narrative  of  travels  In  Europe.    The  rapidly  Increasing  ei- 
--  of  onr  relations  with  the  different  countries  of  ~ 


sent  and  importance  of  our  relations  with  the  different  countries  of  ITiiiobs. 
renders  every  addition  to  our  stock  of  knowledge  concerning  them,  acceptable; 
and,  in  the  multitude  of  European  travels  now  issuing  from  the  press,  we  par 
don  the  repetition  oi  much  that  we  know  already,  in  consideration  of  being 
supplied  with  however  small  a  portion  of  novel  information  Mr.  Mitchell's 
narrative  Is  lively  and  entertaining."— Journal  of  Commerce. 

"  Noras  raox  over  Ska,"  will  furnish  a  rich  treat  to  all  who  read  It  We 
trust  that  our  American  Institutions  by  this  and  other  aid  will  be  more  strength- 
ened and  established." 

'His  remarks  are  highly  Interesting  as  well  as  Instructing.  Mr.  Mitchell  is 
a  gentleman  of  talent  and  education,  and  has  written  a  very  Interesting  work." 
—Express. 


"These  Notes  of  a  long  residence  la  Southern  Europe,  sre  from  a  shrewd 
and  intelligent  observer,  and  a  graceful  and  practised  writer.  The  moat  favor- 
able opportunities  for  observation  were  pose  eased,  and  the  author  has  made  tue 
of  them  with  a  thorough  understanding  of  the  American  mind,  sad  the  stats  of 
European  knowledge  among  us.  It  is,  therefore,  eminently  practical,  and  pre- 
vents those  views  and  features  of  European  society  which  an  Intelligent  Am<  r- 
lean  Christian  most  desires  to  know.  They  are  written  in  an  easy  and  pleasant 
style,  and  embody  many  carefully  prepared  statistics,  and  much  information 
respecting  Romanism,  the  state  of  education,  and  the  condition  of  the  people, 
that  will  be  new  to  most  readers." — Evangelist. 

"  New  books  of  travels,  and  good  ones ;  evidently  the  notes  of  an  Intelligent, 
observing  snd  discriminating  man :  and  one  too  who  has  the  sift  of  telling  u« 
what  he  saw  and  heard  in  such  a  way  that  we  are  pleased  to  follow  him  from 
place  to  place,  or  stop  with  him  when  he  wanu  to  rest,  being  sure  that  wher- 
ever be  is  he  will  find  something  worth  mentioning,  and  that  we  shall  have 
pleasure  in  listening  to  his  account.  We  have  been  gratified  more  by  these 
.wo  volumes  than  by  any  recent  travels  with  which  we  have  met  The  an- 
*hor  wu  formerly  pastor  of  the  Edwards  Church,  Northampton,  and  the  editor 
of  the  Christian  Spectator  ."—A".  Y.  Obeerrer. 


Notes  from  Over  Sea. 

u  A  handsome  pair  of  volumes,  from  a  new  publishing  house  at  114  William 
#treet.  The  author,  late  pastor  of  the  Edwards  Church  at  Northampton, 
Mass.,  went  abroad  for  the  benefit  of  his  health,  having  his  physician  (Dr.  L. 
8.  Hopkins,)  for  a  travelling  companion.  They  wandered  through  England, 
[reland,  Scotland,  France,  Holland,  Belgium,  Switzerland,  Germany,  Italy,  &.c, 
Itc,  and  appear  to  have  taken  note  of  whatever  may  be  supposed  to  interest 
readers  in  general,  and  Mr.  Mitchell  has  made  a  most  agreeable  report  of  their 
observations  in  the  volume  before  us." — Newark  Daily  Advertiser. 

"  Mr.  Mitchell  is  not  a  book-maker — or  in  other  words,  he  did  not  make  his 
sojourn  in  Europe  for  the  purpose  of  getting  up  an  account  of  what  he  saw  and 
heard,  as  is  too  frequently  the  case  with  authors  of  travels.  He  visited  the 
old  world  for  the  benefit  of  his  health,  and  seeing  much  that  was  agreeable — 
much  that  to  him  was  new,  as  it  cannot  fail  to  be  to  the  great  majority  of  his 
readers,  he  took  occasion  to  forward  his  records  of  such  progress  to  a  relative 
at  home, — and  since  his  return  haB  formed  from  them  a  couple  of  very  agreea- 
ble, as  well  as  instructive  volumes,  which  are  now  before  us.  The  style  of 
the  author  is  easy — in  some  cases,  perhaps,  careless — but  still  exhibiting 
throughout  an  air  of  honesty,  which  perhaps  is  never  more  highly  prized  than 
when  hearing  the  pleasing,  and  in  some  cases,  the  wonderful  stories  of  so- 
journers, in  foreign  lands." — Auburn  Journal. 

"  We  have  run  over  these  pages  very  cursorily,  and  have  found  ourselves 
more  interested  in  them  than  we  anticipated.  We  took  up  the  book,  with  the 
feeling  that  here  was  another  added  to  the  many  books  already  published  of 
travels  in  Europe,  and  that  it  could  present  no  new  views  of  the  systems  of 
the  old  world,  or  contrasts  between  them  and  the  new.  But  we  confess,  that 
as  we  glanced  along,  we  became  more  and  more  convinced  of  the  remark  of 
the  author  in  the  preface  that  '  Every  intelligent  American  going  thither  has 
his  own  opportunities  and  habits  of  observation ;  and  if  he  tells  us  many 
things  which  we  know  already,  he  can  hardly  fail  to  tell  us  some  things  which 
we  did  not  know.'  The  book  will  be  found  to  be  one  of  much  interest,  pleas- 
ing and  graceful  in  style,  and  marked  by  liberality  and  freedom  of  sentiment." 
— Albany  Argus. 

14  The  glance  which  we  have  been  enabled  to  take  at  the  pages  of  this  work, 
has  impressed  us  very  favorably,  and  we  anticipate  much  pleasure  in  its  peru- 
sal. The  Rev.  Dr.  Hawes  of  this  city  came  over  from  Liverpool  in  the  same 
steamer  with  Mr.  Mitchell,  and  in  his  preface  to  '  Religion  of  the  East,'  &c, 
he  says,  '  I  remember  with  great  satisfaction  the  many  pleasant  hours  we 
spent  during  the  voyage,  in  communicating  to  each  other  the  views  we  have 
been  led  to  entertain  of  the  countries  we  had  visited.  I  derived  much  useful 
information  from  our  intercourse,  and  I  take  this  opportunity  to  say,  that  he  has 
gathered  from  his  European  tour,  rich  materials  for  a  book  of  travels,  which  I 
am  happy  to  learn  may  soon  be  expected  from  the  press,  and  from  what  I  know 
of  his  plan  and  his  ability  to  execute  it,  I  venture,  before-hand,  to  promise  the 
public  that  they  may  expect  from  his  pen,  not  a  mere  itinerary,  but  a  work 
highly  instructive  and  useful.'  " — Hartford  Courant. 

"The  author  of  these  volumes  is  a  New  England  clergyman,  who,  travelling 
for  his  health,  has  given  us  the  result  of  his  observations.  His  tour  was  pre- 
cisely the  one  which  we  would  have  marked  out  for  ourselves ;  and  the  ob- 
jects which  attracted  his  attention,  would  have  been  sought  for  by  ourselves  ; 
hence  we  felt  prepossessed  in  favor  of  his  book,  as  soon  as  our  eye  had  glanced 
over  the  table  of  contents.  As  to  his  qualifications  as  a  writer  of  such  a  jour- 
nal, we  regard  them  as  very  respectable.  A  sagacious  observer,  with  right  re- 
ligious principles,  with  not  too  much  national  prejudice  to  withhold  justice  from 
others,  with  good  powers  of  description  and  an  easy  pen,  he  has  embodied  in 
his  volumes  many  interesting  facts  and  much  just  observation  on  the  various 
topics  which  came  under  his  consideration.  The  book  is  very  readable  and  in- 
teresting as  well  as  instructive,  and  we  can  therefore  freely  recommend  it." — 
Presbyterian. 

"  The  book  of  travels  in  Europe,  by  Rev.  J.  Mitchell,  late  minister  in  Nor- 
thampton, is  a  valuable  and  interesting  work,  written  in  a  lively  manner,  and 
containing  mnch  important  discussion  in  comparing  the  state  of  society  in  Eu- 
rope  with  that  in  America." — Onaier 


THE  JESUIffWlVBi: 

FROM  THE  FRENCH  OF  MM.  MICHELEViHp  QUIN£T, 

or  the  coukuk  or  rWLAtiC*^^AfXP>{\T)  \S\  £w» 
BY  C.  EDWARDS  LESTE* 


OPINIONS    OF    THE    PRESS. 


The  present  is  a  vigorous  and  eloquent  exposure  of  the  arts  and 
intrigues  of  the  Jesuits,  particularly  of  their  absurd  and  ridiculous 
claims  to  be  the  friends  of  education.  It  is  the  joint  product  of  two 
men  who  have  wrought  a  prodigious  revolution  in  the  public  opinion 
of  Prance,  and  is  as  well  adapted  to  the  designs  of  the  Jesuits  here 
as  there.  We  are  very  glad  to  welcome  to  our  stock  of  Protestant 
reading,  such  admirable  translations  of  their  renowned  works ;  and 
as  they  are  put  up  in  a  cheap  style,  they  ought  to  receive  the  hearty 
patronage  of  the  Protestant  community.— Jv.  F.  Evangelist. 

It  is  well  known  that  the  Jesuits  of  France,  for  a  long  time  at- 
tempted, in  the  name  of  liberty,  to  control  education  in  that  coun- 
try, and  thus  bind  the  youth  of  France  with  the  chains  of  perpetual 
Roman  Catholic  slavery.  The  enlightened  voice  of  the  whole  na- 
tion cried  out  against  the  attempt ;  Michelet  and  Quinet  exposed 
the  wretched  mysteries  of  Jesuitism;  until  this  Roman  order  has,  or 
is  now  leaving  entirely  the  kingdom  of  France.  Many  of  them,  no 
doubt,  have  entered  this  country ;  thousands  of  them  may  be  exert- 
ing their  deadly  influences  here ;  let  this  work,  which  has  been  their 
terror  in  the  old  world,  passing  through  seven  editions  in  eight 
months ;  let  it  meet  them  here,  and  plant  truth  before  their  destruc- 
tive errors.  We  predict  for  it  a  rapid  and  extensive  sale  through 
this  country  and  Canada. — Albany  Spectator. 

The  Jesuits.— The  Roman  Church  and  Modern  Society.— 
We  class  these  works  together,  for  they  relate  to  the  same  subjects, 
and  are  written  by  two  distinguished  men,  who  have  been  associated 
for  a  long  time  in  efforts  to  destroy  the  power  of  the  Jesuits.  Both 
have  acquired  a  wide  reputation,  as  lecturers  upon  history  and  lite- 
rature, and  have  done  much  to  bring  about  the  recent  expulsion  of 
the  Jesuits  from  France.  Their  lectures,  or  rather  the  fragments 
of  their  lectures,  here  published,  produced  a  tremendous  sensation 
in  France,  and  rapidly  ran  through  numerous  editions.  They  are 
popular  in  their  general  spirit  and  style,  and  are  intended  for  imme- 
diate effect.  Portions  of  them  are  beautifully  written,  and  contain 
some  magnificent  thoughts.  Quinet  is  a  writer  of  uncommon  power. 
He  is  philosophical,  and  at  the  same  time  highly  dramatic.  His 
sentences  flash  and  burn,  and  strike  home  to  the  heart  with  an  over- 
whelming energy. — Christian  Secretary. 

*  •  •  These  works  must  have  their  influence.  They  are  not 
the  ravings  of  distempered  fancy,  nor  of  alarmed  fanaticism,  but  the 
deliberate  convictions  of  learned  and  able  men— of  men  of  approved 
judgment  and  ripe  experience — based  upon  the  evidence  of  nistory. 
If  that  Church  be  the  true  Church,  such  assaults  will  do  her  no 
harm  ;  but  if  she  be  the  corrupt  and  rotten  edifice,  described  by 
these  men  who  have  grown  up  in  her  bosom,  and  who  live  in  the 
midst  of  her  influences,  the  blows  of  assailants  so  able  and  bold  will 
shake  her  walls. — Cincinnati  Evening  Journal. 


THE  ROMAN  CHURCH  AND  MODERN  SOCIETY. 

FROM  THE  FRENCH  OF  M.  QUINET. 

BY    C.    EDWARDS    LESTER. 


OPINIONS    OF    THE    PRESS. 

This  is  an  able,  eloquent  and  highly  interesting  work,  from  the  pen 
of  a  distinguished  scholar,  whose  discussions  have  moved  the  heart  of 
France,  producing  a  state  of  feeling  from  which  the  Jesuits  deemed 
it  proper  to  retire,  without  waiting  to  be  expelled  by  the  govern- 
ment. The  work  has  created  a  strong  sensation  in  Europe,  and  been 
prohibited  in  Italy.  In  this  country  it  will  no  doubt  render  an  im- 
portant service  in  the  cause  of  truth,  and  we  trust  it  will  be  exten- 
sively circulated. — Phila.  Christian  Observer. 

It  is  an  admirable,  spirited  work,  and  replete  with  overwhelming 
proofs  of  the  demoralizing,  depopulating,  impoverishing  and  destruc- 
tive influence  which  Popery  sheds  upon  every  land  where  it  exists. 
At  the  present  time,  we  regard  the  introduction  of  a  work  like  this 
as  highly  auspicious  and  full  of  promise.  The  weapons  that  have 
been  so  effectual  in  France  against  Popery  will  not  be  without  some 
effect  here. — New  York  Evangelist. 

Of  all  the  books  that  have  been  written  on  this  subject,  there  is 
none  which,  in  our  view,  so  completely  uncovers  the  nakedness  of 
the  Harlot  of  Rome,  as  this  of  Professor  Quinet.  It  is  a  work  of  great 
power,  originality  and  interest,  and  cannot  be  read  without  profit,  by 
the  intelligent  American  Christian.  It  should  not  be  read  carelessly 
— it  should  be  studied.  Its  positions  should  be  well  understood — 
its  tendencies  tracked  with  a  cautious  step,  and  an  inquiring  eye. — 
New  York  Journal  of  Commerce. 

*  *  *  The  blighting  influence  of  Catholicism  and  Jesuitism, 
as  well  on  the  arts  and  sciences  as  on  personal  or  national  character, 
are  forcibly  shown.  One  or  more  translations  of  the  work  have  ap- 
peared in  England,  where  they  have  been  seized  upon  with  avidity. 
And  it  is  but  justice  to  the  American  translator  to  say,  that  we  do  not 
see  how  the  original  could  have  been  better  rendered. — Bost.  Cour. 

*  *  *  This  work  has  been  very  popular  in  France,  and  doubt- 
less the  translation,  which  is  now  presented  to  the  American  pub- 
lic, will  be  extensively  read.  It  strips  the  veil  from  the  Papal  sys- 
tem, and  shows  that  it  ever  has  been,  and  still  is,  the  foe  of  free 
inquiry,  even  in  the  natural  sciences. — N.  J.  Advocate. 

*  *  *  The  Roman  Church  is  described  as  the  great  antagonism 
of  the  French  revolution  ;  her  opposition  to  all  that  is  new  in 
science  or  profound  in  philosophy,  to  all  that  is  free  in  spirit  or  noble 
in  soul ;  how,  instead  of  urging  forward  that  spirit  of  progress  which 
is  the  life  of  modern  society,  and  to  which  the  French  revolution 
gave  so  much  impetus,  she  has  ever  endeavored  to  cramp  its  spirit 
and  thwart  its  designs,  and  to  bring  about  those  days  of  spiritual  ty- 
ranny when  her  highest  glory  was  to  crush  the  life  out  of  the  body 
of  Galileo,  and  to  re-dye  her  purple  in  the  blood  of  St.  Bartholemews. 

The  book  owes  much  to  its  translator,  for  we  cannot  fail  to  re- 
cognize, even  under  what  is  called  "  a  literal  translation,"  the  fiery 
spirit  and  glowing  words  of  the  Author  of  the  Glory  and  Shame  of 
England. — Providence  Journal. 


ELEMENTS  OK  (JEOLOCHi 

FOR  THE  USE  OF  8CHOOL3  AND  ACADEMIE3. 
Hy  Professor  Wllllum  W.  Mather.    Filth  Edition.    In  one  volume 


EXTRACT    FROM    TMR    MM 

-The  object  of  Um  following  IMfM  I*,  to  "Mbit  a  concise  sketch  of  Geo- 
logy, for  lha  on  of  Academies  and  the  higher  classes  In  Primary  Schools.  It 
la  desirable  that  Um  community  should  be  fan.  h  ,r  a  Ith  the  lending  nets  of 
this  science,  that  they  may  be  enabled  to  apply  It  to  the  various  economical 
purpovs  „|  l.t.v  Kvrry  science  »»  valuable  to  the  community,  la  proportion 
aa  the  knowledge  of  Its  met*  and  application*  I*  disseinlaated  amoac  the  maas 
of  the  paopie.  Aa  the  number  of  obaerver*  Increaaea,  mora  facta  will  be  aeeo 
mulated,  and  ilm  reamircea  of  the  country  d.  •        •        • 

■M  little  work  U  a  sketch  of  the  author's  public  course  of  instruction  la 
Geology;  during  the  progress  of  whleh.  Its  principles  are  illustrated  by  rem- 
ranees  to  American  localities,  anil  visiting  those  localities  when  practicable.'' 


Since  the  publication  of  this  work,  Professor  Mather  has  been 
take  a  Geological  Survey  of  the  Bute  of  New  York  ;  and  his  report  oa  this 
subject,  in  one  large  quarto  volume,  la  esteemed  one  of  the  moat  valuable  con- 
tributmns  to  this  branch  of  scieatlfk  literature  in  this  country. 


NORTH  AMERICAN  BOTANY : 

Comprising  the  aaUve  and  common  cultivated  Plants,  north  of  Mexico.    By  the 
late  Amos  £atoa,  A.  M.,  and  John  Wright,  M.  D.    1  vol.  8vo. 


DEWEY'S  PIKE'S  ARITHMETIC.— 8vo. 

■  Pike's  Arithmetic  Is  too  well  known  and  too  highly  appreciated  to  require 
any  recommendation ;  and  by  furnishing  an  edition  of  that  work,  in  which 
common  language  Is  substituted  for  algebraic  signs.  Professor  Dewey  has  con- 
ferred a  favor  oa  those  who  may  wish  to  acquire  or  teach  Arithmetic  without 
Algebra ;  by  whom  it  is  presumed  this  edition  will  be  patronized."— {President 
Nott  of  Union  College. 

WICKHAM'S  TIME-BOOKS, 

FOB  MECHANICS'  AND  MANUFACTUBEBS'  ACCOUNTS. 

■  Its  use,  I  am  well  convinced  from  having  used  a  book  of  similar  form  la 
Y+n.  will  be  the  means  of  preventing  many  misunderstandings  between  em- 
ployers and  employed,  that  often  occur  by  means  of  the  loose  manner  of  keep- 
ing their  accounts." 


EATON'S  CHEMICAL  INSTRUCTOR.— 
12mo. 


A  TREATISE  ON 

INTERNATIONAL  LAW, 

By  Daniel   Gardner,  Esq.,    Counsellor  at  Law.      1  vol.  12mo. 
Lately  published. 

From  the  many  flattering  testimonials  of  this  work,  the  publishers  select  the 
following: 

Extract  of  a  letter  from  the  Hon.  Alexander  H.  Everett  to  the  author  giving 
his  opinion  of  the  International  Law  and  American  Polity. 

"  I  have  read  the  work,  somewhat  hastily,  but  with  great  pleasure.  It  ex- 
hibits an  extent  of  research  and  a  liberality  of  sentiment  which  do  you  credit. 
The  suggestion,  which  you  render  more  particularly  prominent,  that  of  discon- 
tinuing the  practice  of  plundering  private  property  at  sea  in  time  of  war,  must, 
I  think,  be  adopted  at  no  great  distance  of  time.  This  reform  in  the  law  of  na- 
tions is  imperiously  demanded  by  a  regard  for  consistency,  if  by  no  higher  mo- 
tive, and  cannot  much  longer  be  delayed.  It  is  a  sin  and  shame  that  the  pre- 
sent barbarous  system  should  be  upheld  by  the  authority  of  a  single  power 
against  the  universal  sentiment  of  the  civilized  world — and  that  too  a  power 
professing  to  act  uniformly  on  the  purest  principles  of  morality  and  religion. 
Mankind  will  not  tolerate  again  such  barefaced  inconsistency ;  and  if  Great 
Britain  should  attempt  in  any  future  war  to  revive  against  neutrals  a  preten- 
sion which  she  put  forward  during  the  last,  she  will  be  met  by  another  cru- 
sade, as  general  as  that  of  the  Armed  Neutrality  of  the  American  Revolution, 
and,  I  trust,  still  more  effectual." 

In  a  second  letter,  Mr.  Everett,  speaking  on  the  part  of  the  book  relating  to  the 
admission  by  Britain  of  neutral  rights,  and  of  the  doctrine  that  free  ships  make 
free  goods,  says : 

"  Although  I  am  pretty  familiar  with  this  topic  in  all  its  parts,  your  account 
of  the  adhesion  of  Great  Britain  to  the  liberal  code  at  and  since  the  treaty  of 
Utretcht.  had  on  my  mind  in  some  degree,  the  effect  of  novelty." 

Professor  Cogswell,  late  of  the  Theological  Seminary,  East  Windsor,  Conn., 
now  of  New  Brunswick,  N.  J.,  referring  to  the  work,  says : 

"  I  have  read  it  with  much  pleasure — while  reading  it  the  thought  was  sug- 
gested to  my  mind  that  it  would  be  an  excellent  book  for  our  schools  and  aca 
demies.  Indeed  such  a  book  is  needed  in  every  family  in  this  free  country.  If 
ought  to  be  read  by  every  man,  who  gives  his  vote  either  for  State  or  National 
officers.  The  articles  are  numerous,  important,  and  easily  understood.  1  can 
wi  A  much  satisfaction  reeommend  it  to  all  employed  in  teaching  the  boys  and 
young  men  of  our  country." 

James  Dixon,  Esq.,  Counsellor  at  Law,  Hartford,  Conn.,  writing  his  opinion 
of  the  book,  says : 

"  Permit  me  to  say  that  in  my  humble  judgment,  its  merit  is  of  the  highest 
order,  and  will  greatly  add  to  the  already  enviable  reputation  of  its  author." 

Wendell  Phillips,  Esq.,  of  Boston,  writes  thus  to  the  author  in  reference  to 
the  book : 

"  Your  main  purpose the  skeleton  of  your  whole  system,  I  heartily  concur 

in  and  sincerely  applaud,  bringing  all  points  to  the  test  of  right  and  wrong. 
'  Where  will  the  consequences  of  the  American  Revolution  end!1  used  to  be  a 
Sivorite  exclamation  of  John  Adams.  One  now-a-days  is  tempted  to  ask  like- 
wise— '  Where  will  the  consequences  of  Paley's  doctrine  of  expediency  end  V 
Thanks  to  you  that  in  International  Law  you  have  thrown,  I  believe,  the  first 
stone  at  the  head  of  the  foul  doctrine." 

Speaking  of  bringing  all  questions  to  the  test  of  the  Moral  Law  of  God,  he 
says : 

"This,  I  take  it,  is  the  vital  essence  of  your  philosophy  of  International  Ju- 
risprudence, but  I  never  saw  it  carried  out  into  detail,  and  the  illustrations 
which  your  work  furnishes." 


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